2,291 research outputs found
Lunar impact flashes from Geminids, analysis of luminous efficiencies and the flux of large meteoroids on Earth
We analyze lunar impact flashes recorded by our team during runs in December
2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014. In total, 12 impact flashes with magnitudes ranging
between 7.1 and 9.3 in V band were identified. From these, 9 events could be
linked to the Geminid stream. Using these observations the ratio of luminous
energy emitted in the flashes with respect to the kinetic energy of the
impactors for meteoroids of the Geminid stream is estimated. By making use of
the known Geminids meteoroid flux on Earth we found this ratio to be
2.1x10 on average. We compare this luminous efficiency with other
estimations derived in the past for other meteoroid streams and also compare it
with other estimations that we present here for the first time by making use of
crater diameter measurements. We think that the luminous efficiency has to be
revised downward, not upward, at least for sporadic impacts. This implies an
increase in the influx of kilogram-sized and larger bodies on Earth that has
been derived thus far through the lunar impact flash monitoring technique
Bioinformatics tools for inferring immune-relatedfunctions from proteomic data
Comunicaciones a congreso
Proteomic characterization of the porcine neutrophil response to LPS from Salmonella Typhimurium by 2D-Gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry
Comunicaciones a congreso
Possible ring material around centaur (2060) Chiron
We propose that several short duration events observed in past stellar
occultations by Chiron were produced by rings material. From a reanalysis of
the stellar occultation data in the literature we determined two possible
orientations of the pole of Chiron's rings, with ecliptic coordinates
l=(352+/-10) deg, b=(37+/-10) deg or l=(144+/-10) deg, b=(24+/-10) deg . The
mean radius of the rings is (324 +/- 10) km. One can use the rotational
lightcurve amplitude of Chiron at different epochs to distinguish between the
two solutions for the pole. Both imply lower lightcurve amplitude in 2013 than
in 1988, when the rotational lightcurve was first determined. We derived
Chiron's rotational lightcurve in 2013 from observations at the 1.23-m CAHA
telescope and indeed its amplitude is smaller than in 1988. We also present a
rotational lightcurve in 2000 from images taken at CASLEO 2.15-m telescope that
is consistent with our predictions. Out of the two poles the l=(144+/-10) deg,
b=(24+/-10) deg solution provides a better match to a compilation of rotational
lightcurve amplitudes from the literature and those presented here. We also
show that using this preferred pole, Chiron's long term brightness variations
are compatible with a simple model that incorporates the changing brightness of
the rings as the tilt angle with respect to the Earth changes with time. Also,
the variability of the water ice band in Chiron's spectra in the literature can
be explained to a large degree by an icy ring system whose tilt angle changes
with time and whose composition includes water ice, analogously to the case of
Chariklo. We present several possible formation scenarios for the rings from
qualitative points of view and speculate on the reasons why rings might be
common in centaurs. We speculate on whether the known bimodal color
distribution of centaurs could be due to presence of rings and lack of them
Visible and near-infrared observations of asteroid 2012 DA14 during its closest approach of February 15, 2013
Near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 made its closest approach on February 15, 2013,
when it passed at a distance of 27,700 km from the Earth's surface. It was the
first time an asteroid of moderate size was predicted to approach that close to
the Earth, becoming bright enough to permit a detailed study from ground-based
telescopes. Asteroid 2012 DA14 was poorly characterized before its closest
approach. We acquired data using several telescopes on four Spanish
observatories: the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and the 3.6m Telescopio
Nazionale Galileo (TNG), both in the El Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
(ORM, La Palma); the 2.2m CAHA telescope, in the Calar Alto Observatory
(Almeria); the f/3 0.77m telescope in the La Hita Observatory (Toledo); and the
f/8 1.5m telescope in the Sierra Nevada Observatory (OSN, Granada). We obtained
visible and near-infrared color photometry, visible spectra and time-series
photometry. Visible spectra together with color photometry of 2012 DA14 show
that it can be classified as an L-type asteroid, a rare spectral type with a
composition similar to that of carbonaceous chondrites. The time-series
photometry provides a rotational period of 8.95 +- 0.08 hours after the closest
approach, and there are indications that the object suffered a spin-up during
this event. The large amplitude of the light curve suggests that the object is
very elongated and irregular, with an equivalent diameter of around 18m. We
obtain an absolute magnitude of H_R = 24.5 +- 0.2, corresponding to H_V = 25.0
+- 0.2. The GTC photometry also gives H_V = 25.29 +- 0.14. Both values agree
with the value listed at the Minor Planet Center shortly after discovery. From
the absolute photometry, together with some constraints on size and shape, we
compute a geometric albedo of p_V = 0.44 +- 0.20, which is slightly above the
range of albedos known for L-type asteroids (0.082 - 0.405).Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted in A&A (June 17 2013
Goodness-of-Fit Tests to study the Gaussianity of the MAXIMA data
Goodness-of-Fit tests, including Smooth ones, are introduced and applied to
detect non-Gaussianity in Cosmic Microwave Background simulations. We study the
power of three different tests: the Shapiro-Francia test (1972), the
uncategorised smooth test developed by Rayner and Best(1990) and the Neyman's
Smooth Goodness-of-fit test for composite hypotheses (Thomas and Pierce 1979).
The Smooth Goodness-of-Fit tests are designed to be sensitive to the presence
of ``smooth'' deviations from a given distribution. We study the power of these
tests based on the discrimination between Gaussian and non-Gaussian
simulations. Non-Gaussian cases are simulated using the Edgeworth expansion and
assuming pixel-to-pixel independence. Results show these tests behave similarly
and are more powerful than tests directly based on cumulants of order 3, 4, 5
and 6. We have applied these tests to the released MAXIMA data. The applied
tests are built to be powerful against detecting deviations from univariate
Gaussianity. The Cholesky matrix corresponding to signal (based on an assumed
cosmological model) plus noise is used to decorrelate the observations previous
to the analysis. Results indicate that the MAXIMA data are compatible with
Gaussianity.Comment: MNRAS, in pres
Association between Air Pollution and Hemoptysis
Altres ajuts: The authors would like to thank the Service of Air Surveillance and Control (Servei de Vigilància i Control de l'Aire) of the Department of Environment of the Catalan Autonomous Government for the data provided.Background. The relationship between air pollution and exacerbation of respiratory diseases is well established. Nevertheless, its association with hemoptysis has been poorly investigated. This paper describes the relationship of air pollutants with severe hemoptysis. Methods. All consecutive subjects with severe hemoptysis during a 5-year period were included. The relationship between the contamination measurements and the frequency of embolizations was analyzed using Poisson regressions. In these regressions, the dependent variable was the monthly number of embolizations in a given month and the independent variable was either the concentration of an air contaminant during the same month, the concentration of the air contaminant during the previous month, or the difference between the two. Results. A higher total number of embolizations per month were observed over the months with increases in the concentration of NO. The number of embolizations was 2.0 in the 33 months with no increases in the concentration of NO, 2.1 in the 12 months with small increases, 2.2 in the 5 months with moderate increases, 2.5 in the 4 months with large increases, and 4.0 in the 5 months with very large increases. Conclusion. There is association between hemoptysis and increases in the concentration of atmospheric NO in Badalona (Spain)
Optimized Herschel/PACS photometer observing and data reduction strategies for moving solar system targets
The "TNOs are Cool!: A survey of the trans-Neptunian region" is a Herschel
Open Time Key Program that aims to characterize planetary bodies at the
outskirts of the Solar System using PACS and SPIRE data, mostly taken as
scan-maps. In this paper we summarize our PACS data reduction scheme that uses
a modified version of the standard pipeline for basic data reduction, optimized
for faint, moving targets. Due to the low flux density of our targets the
observations are confusion noise limited or at least often affected by bright
nearby background sources at 100 and 160\,m. To overcome these problems we
developed techniques to characterize and eliminate the background at the
positions of our targets and a background matching technique to compensate for
pointing errors. We derive a variety of maps as science data products that are
used depending on the source flux and background levels and the scientific
purpose. Our techniques are also applicable to a wealth of other Herschel solar
system photometric observations, e.g. comets and near-Earth asteroids. The
principles of our observing strategies and reduction techniques for moving
targets will also be applicable for similar surveys of future infrared space
projects.Comment: Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronom
Gene expression pattern in swine neutrophils after lipopolysaccharide exposure: a time course comparison
Background: Experimental exposure of swine neutrophils to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) represents a model
to study the innate immune response during bacterial infection. Neutrophils can effectively limit the infection by
secreting lipid mediators, antimicrobial molecules and a combination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) without new
synthesis of proteins. However, it is known that neutrophils can modify the gene expression after LPS exposure. We
performed microarray gene expression analysis in order to elucidate the less known transcriptional response of
neutrophils during infection.
Methods: Blood samples were collected from four healthy Iberian pigs and neutrophils were isolated and incubated
during 6, 9 and 18 hrs in presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.
RNA was isolated and hybridized to Affymetrix Porcine GeneChip®. Microarray data were normalized using Robust
Microarray Analysis (RMA) and then, differential expression was obtained by an analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results: ANOVA data analysis showed that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEG) after LPS treatment vary
with time. The highest transcriptional response occurred at 9 hr post LPS stimulation with 1494 DEG whereas at 6 and
18 hr showed 125 and 108 DEG, respectively. Three different gene expression tendencies were observed: genes in
cluster 1 showed a tendency toward up-regulation; cluster 2 genes showing a tendency for down-regulation at 9 hr;
and cluster 3 genes were up-regulated at 9 hr post LPS stimulation. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis revealed a delay of
neutrophil apoptosis at 9 hr. Many genes controlling biological functions were altered with time including those
controlling metabolism and cell organization, ubiquitination, adhesion, movement or inflammatory response.
Conclusions: LPS stimulation alters the transcriptional pattern in neutrophils and the present results show that the
robust transcriptional potential of neutrophils under infection conditions, indicating that active regulation of gene
expression plays a major role in the neutrophil-mediated- innate immune respons
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