Heteroduplex analysis of the RNA of clone 3 Moloney murine sarcoma virus

Heteroduplex analysis of the RNA isolated from purified virions of clone 3 Moloney murine sarcoma virus (M-MSV) hybridized to cDNA's from Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MLV) and clone 124 M-MSV shows that the main physical component of clone 3 RNA is missing all or most of the 1.5-kilobase (kb) clone 124 M-MSV specific sequence denoted beta s (S. Hu et al. Cell 10:469-477, 1977). This sequence is either deleted in clone 3 RNA or substituted by a very short (0.3-kilobase) sequence. In other respects, clone 3 and clone 124 RNAs show the same heteroduplex structure relative to M-MLV. Since beta s is believed to contain the src gene(s) of clone 124 RNA, this result leaves as an unresolved question the nature of the src gene(s) of the clone 3 M-MSV RNA complex

Interpreting the strongly lensed supernova iPTF16geu: time delay predictions, microlensing, and lensing rates

We present predictions for time delays between multiple images of the gravitationally lensed supernova, iPTF16geu, which was recently discovered from the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF). As the supernova is of Type Ia where the intrinsic luminosity is usually well-known, accurately measured time delays of the multiple images could provide tight constraints on the Hubble constant. According to our lens mass models constrained by the {\it Hubble Space Telescope} F814W image, we expect the maximum relative time delay to be less than a day, which is consistent with the maximum of 100 hours reported by Goobar et al. but places a stringent upper limit. Furthermore, the fluxes of most of the supernova images depart from expected values suggesting that they are affected by microlensing. The microlensing timescales are small enough that they may pose significant problems to measure the time delays reliably. Our lensing rate calculation indicates that the occurrence of a lensed SN in iPTF is likely. However, the observed total magnification of iPTF16geu is larger than expected, given its redshift. This may be a further indication of ongoing microlensing in this system.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, ApjL accepted, minor but important correction

An operator extension of weak monotonicity

Let $S(\rho)$ be the von Neumann entropy of a density matrix $\rho$. Weak monotonicity asserts that $S(\rho_{AB}) - S(\rho_A) + S(\rho_{BC}) - S(\rho_C)\geq 0$ for any tripartite density matrix $\rho_{ABC}$, a fact that is equivalent to the strong subadditivity of entropy. We prove an operator inequality, which, upon taking an expectation value with respect to the state $\rho_{ABC}$, reduces to the weak monotonicity inequality. Generalizations of this inequality to the one involving two independent density matrices, as well as their R\'enyi-generalizations, are also presented

Regional Relationship between Macular Retinal Thickness and Corresponding Central Visual Field Sensitivity in Glaucoma Patients

Purpose. To investigate the relationship between macular retinal thickness (MRT) and central visual field sensitivity (VFS) in patients with glaucoma. Methods. This retrospective study enrolled patients diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma. All study patients underwent Humphrey 10-2 visual field (VF) test and Spectralis spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) exam for MRT measurement. Results. Sixty-eight eyes of 68 patients were examined. The correlation coefficients between VFS and MRT were 0.331 (P=0.006) and 0.491 (P=0.000) in the superior and inferior hemispheres, respectively. The average MRT in the eyes with abnormal 10-2 VF hemifields was significantly thinner than that in the eyes without abnormal hemifields in both hemispheres (P=0.005 and 0.000 in the superior and inferior hemisphere, resp.). The average MRT values with an optimal sensitivity-specificity balance for discriminating the abnormal VF hemifield from the normal hemifield were 273.5 μm and 255.5 μm in the superior and inferior hemisphere, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.701 in the superior hemisphere and 0.784 in the inferior hemisphere (both P<0.05). Conclusions. MRT measured through SD-OCT was significantly correlated with central VFS. Lower MRT values might be a warning sign for central VF defects in glaucoma patients

Remote sensing of Earth terrain

Remote sensing of earth terrain is examined. The layered random medium model is used to investigate the fully polarimetric scattering of electromagnetic waves from vegetation. The model is used to interpret the measured data for vegetation fields such as rice, wheat, or soybean over water or soil. Accurate calibration of polarimetric radar systems is essential for the polarimetric remote sensing of earth terrain. A polarimetric calibration algorithm using three arbitrary in-scene reflectors is developed. In the interpretation of active and passive microwave remote sensing data from the earth terrain, the random medium model was shown to be quite successful. A multivariate K-distribution is proposed to model the statistics of fully polarimetric radar returns from earth terrain. In the terrain cover classification using the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, the applications of the K-distribution model will provide better performance than the conventional Gaussian classifiers. The layered random medium model is used to study the polarimetric response of sea ice. Supervised and unsupervised classification procedures are also developed and applied to synthetic aperture radar polarimetric images in order to identify their various earth terrain components for more than two classes. These classification procedures were applied to San Francisco Bay and Traverse City SAR images

A new quadruple gravitational lens from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Survey: the puzzle of HSC~J115252+004733

We report the serendipitous discovery of a quadruply lensed source at $z_{\rm s}=3.76$, HSC~J115252+004733, from the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Survey. The source is lensed by an early-type galaxy at $z_{\rm l}=0.466$ and a satellite galaxy. Here, we investigate the properties of the source by studying its size and luminosity from the imaging and the luminosity and velocity width of the Ly-$\alpha$ line from the spectrum. Our analyses suggest that the source is most probably a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN) but the possibility of it being a compact bright galaxy (e.g., a Lyman-$\alpha$ emitter or Lyman Break Galaxy) cannot be excluded. The brighter pair of lensed images appears point-like except in the HSC $i$-band (with a seeing $\sim0.5"$). The extended emission in the $i$-band image could be due to the host galaxy underneath the AGN, or alternatively, due to a highly compact lensed galaxy (without AGN) which appears point-like in all bands except in $i$-band. We also find that the flux ratio of the brighter pair of images is different in the Ks-band compared to optical wavelengths. Phenomena such as differential extinction and intrinsic variability cannot explain this chromatic variation. While microlensing from stars in the foreground galaxy is less likely to be the cause, it cannot be ruled out completely. If the galaxy hosts an AGN, then this represents the highest redshift quadruply imaged AGN known to date, enabling study of a distant LLAGN. Discovery of this unusually compact and faint source demonstrates the potential of the HSC survey.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 3 Tables, MNRAS accepted, text reduce

A Novel Algorithm for Effective Vibration Control of Portal Frames

Severe vibrations such as earthquakes threaten to demolish or cause damage to built structures during their lifetime. Mitigation of such damage can be done by using control devices such as actuators. In this paper, an algorithm is proposed to analyze the nonlinear behavior of a portal frame supported by an actuator. The results were compared with those for a frame without actuator. The algorithm was developed in accordance with the Timoshenko beam element theory. ANSYS verified the results for the cases of a frame supported by a damper element and a frame without actuator. The results support the efficiency of the algorithm in reducing frame vibration and top-node displacement