132 research outputs found
Continuum reverberation mapping of Mrk 876 over three years with remote robotic observatories
Funding: Research at UC Irvine is supported by NSF grant AST-1907290. HL acknowledges a Daphne Jackson Fellowship sponsored by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UK. ERC acknowledges support by the NRF of South Africa. TT acknowledges support from NSF through grant NSF-AST-1907208.Continuum reverberation mapping probes the sizescale of the optical continuum-emitting region in active galactic nuclei (AGN). Through 3 years of multiwavelength photometric monitoring in the optical with robotic observatories, we perform continuum reverberation mapping on Mrk~876. All wavebands show large amplitude variability and are well correlated. Slow variations in the light curves broaden the cross-correlation function (CCF) significantly, requiring detrending in order to robustly recover interband lags. We measure consistent interband lags using three techniques (CCF, JAVELIN, PyROA), with a lag of around 13~days from u to z. These lags are longer than the expected radius of 12~days for the self-gravitating radius of the disk. The lags increase with wavelength roughly following λ4/3, as would be expected from thin disk theory, but the lag normalization is approximately a factor of 3 longer than expected, as has also been observed in other AGN. The lag in the i band shows an excess which we attribute to variable Hα broad-line emission. A flux-flux analysis shows a variable spectrum that follows fν ∝ λ-1/3 as expected for a disk, and an excess in the i band that also points to strong variable Hα emission in that band.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
The Vehicle, Fall 2008
Table of Contents
DwIFoFErREINdTPhilip Gallagherpage 17
LeftoversAmanda Vealepage 18
the bogGrace Lawrencepage 19
Visitor\u27s Morning on EarthSteven T. Coxpage 20
The Moon Man Philip Gallagherpage 21
SearchingsAmanda Vealepage 23
Becoming WiseAmanda Vealepage 24
PerennialsAmanda Vealepage 26
SoldierMary Lieskepage 27
Desecration of a RelicAmanda Vealepage 29
New LifeJennifer O\u27Neilpage 30
GardenerKrystina Levyapage 43
The Reasons WhyMary Lieskepage 44
Dining at the MortuaryAmanda Vealepage 45
Poetry
Hop Scotch BehopJake Dawsonpage 1
Empty RoomAmanda Vealepage 2
Mantis (from memory) Muddy ShoesGina Marie LoBiancopage 3
MEMOSamuel Clowardpage 5
MathMary Lieskepage 7
To a Little Black GirlJustin Sudkamppage 8
Government OfficeSamuel Clowardpage 9
FirstKellen Fasnachtpage 10
Seeing Artichoke, Call MeAmanda Vealepage 11
TrumpetSarah Fairchildpage 12
That\u27s the StuffJake Dawsonpage 13
Your Hair is ThinningAmanda Vealepage 15
UnableDonica Millerpage 16
Dance PartnersSamantha Sauerpage 32
I StillMegan Mathypage 33
IncandescenceSarah Fairchildpage 34
Stone CraneBrendan Hughespage 35
The Road TakenSamantha Sauerpage 36
YouMegan Mathypage 37
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Zhangjiajie, ChinaBrendan Hughespage 38
Spotlight on 2008 Chapbook
LessonsGlen Davispage 62
Interview with Glen DavisRebecca Griffithpage 64
Contributorspage 69
Submission Guidelines/Reading Event
Blues Mad FoolJake Dawsonpage 47
Good WomanJake Dawsonpage 49
Good ManJake Dawsonpage 51
And I Miss YouDonica Millerpage 53
Entropy of Your ShirtAmanda Vealepage 56
Mavericks Philip Gallagherpage 57
Untitled [It\u27s 10:15 p.m....]Philip Gallagherpage 59
Prose
A Birdhouse for GrandpaLeslie Hancockpage 39
MotivationMary Lieskepage 55
Art
Forgotten GardenBrendan Hughescovers
BeMegan Mathypage 31https://thekeep.eiu.edu/vehicle/1088/thumbnail.jp
Array comparative genomic hybridisation-based identification of two imbalances of chromosome 1p in a 9-year-old girl with a monosomy 1p36 related phenotype and a family history of learning difficulties: a case report
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Monosomy 1p36 is one of the most common terminal deletion syndromes, with an approximate incidence of 1 in every 5000 live births. This syndrome is associated with several pronounced clinical features including characteristic facial features, cardiac abnormalities, seizures and mental retardation, all of which are believed to be due to haploinsufficiency of genes within the 1p36 region. The deletion size varies from approximately 1.5 Mb to 10 Mb with the most common breakpoints located at 1p36.13 to 1p36.33. Over 70% of 1p36 deletion patients have a true terminal deletion. A further 7% have interstitial deletions and a proportion have a derivative chromosome 1 where the 1p telomere is replaced by material from another chromosome, either as a result of a de-novo rearrangement or as a consequence of malsegregation of a balanced parental translocation at meiosis.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Array comparative genomic hybridisation analysis of a 9-year-old Caucasian girl presenting with dysmorphic facial features and learning difficulties, for whom previous routine karyotyping had been normal, identified two submicroscopic rearrangements within chromosome 1p. Detection of both an insertional duplication of a region of 1p32.3 into the subtelomeric region of the short arm of a chromosome 1 homologue and a deletion within 1p36.32 of the same chromosome instigated a search for candidate genes within these regions which could be responsible for the clinical phenotype of the patient. Several genes were identified by computer-based annotation, some of which have implications in neurological and physical development.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Array comparative genomic hybridisation is providing a robust method for pinpointing regions of candidate genes associated with clinical phenotypes that extend beyond the resolution of the light microscope. This case report provides an example of how this method of analysis and the subsequent reporting of findings have proven useful in collaborative efforts to elucidate multiple gene functions from a clinical perspective.</p
LSST Science Book, Version 2.0
A survey that can cover the sky in optical bands over wide fields to faint
magnitudes with a fast cadence will enable many of the exciting science
opportunities of the next decade. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)
will have an effective aperture of 6.7 meters and an imaging camera with field
of view of 9.6 deg^2, and will be devoted to a ten-year imaging survey over
20,000 deg^2 south of +15 deg. Each pointing will be imaged 2000 times with
fifteen second exposures in six broad bands from 0.35 to 1.1 microns, to a
total point-source depth of r~27.5. The LSST Science Book describes the basic
parameters of the LSST hardware, software, and observing plans. The book
discusses educational and outreach opportunities, then goes on to describe a
broad range of science that LSST will revolutionize: mapping the inner and
outer Solar System, stellar populations in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies,
the structure of the Milky Way disk and halo and other objects in the Local
Volume, transient and variable objects both at low and high redshift, and the
properties of normal and active galaxies at low and high redshift. It then
turns to far-field cosmological topics, exploring properties of supernovae to
z~1, strong and weak lensing, the large-scale distribution of galaxies and
baryon oscillations, and how these different probes may be combined to
constrain cosmological models and the physics of dark energy.Comment: 596 pages. Also available at full resolution at
http://www.lsst.org/lsst/sciboo
AGN STORM 2: V. Anomalous Behavior of the CIV Light Curve in Mrk 817
An intensive reverberation mapping campaign on the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk817
using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
revealed significant variations in the response of the broad UV emission lines
to fluctuations in the continuum emission. The response of the prominent UV
emission lines changes over a 60-day duration, resulting in distinctly
different time lags in the various segments of the light curve over the 14
months observing campaign. One-dimensional echo-mapping models fit these
variations if a slowly varying background is included for each emission line.
These variations are more evident in the CIV light curve, which is the line
least affected by intrinsic absorption in Mrk817 and least blended with
neighboring emission lines. We identify five temporal windows with distinct
emission line response, and measure their corresponding time delays, which
range from 2 to 13 days. These temporal windows are plausibly linked to changes
in the UV and X-ray obscuration occurring during these same intervals. The
shortest time lags occur during periods with diminishing obscuration, whereas
the longest lags occur during periods with rising obscuration. We propose that
the obscuring outflow shields the ultraviolet broad lines from the ionizing
continuum. The resulting change in the spectral energy distribution of the
ionizing continuum, as seen by clouds at a range of distances from the nucleus,
is responsible for the changes in the line response.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Ap
An EGF-like Protein Forms a Complex with PfRh5 and Is Required for Invasion of Human Erythrocytes by Plasmodium falciparum
Invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium falciparum involves a complex cascade of protein-protein interactions between parasite ligands and host receptors. The reticulocyte binding-like homologue (PfRh) protein family is involved in binding to and initiating entry of the invasive merozoite into erythrocytes. An important member of this family is PfRh5. Using ion-exchange chromatography, immunoprecipitation and mass spectroscopy, we have identified a novel cysteine-rich protein we have called P. falciparum Rh5 interacting protein (PfRipr) (PFC1045c), which forms a complex with PfRh5 in merozoites. Mature PfRipr has a molecular weight of 123 kDa with 10 epidermal growth factor-like domains and 87 cysteine residues distributed along the protein. In mature schizont stages this protein is processed into two polypeptides that associate and form a complex with PfRh5. The PfRipr protein localises to the apical end of the merozoites in micronemes whilst PfRh5 is contained within rhoptries and both are released during invasion when they form a complex that is shed into the culture supernatant. Antibodies to PfRipr1 potently inhibit merozoite attachment and invasion into human red blood cells consistent with this complex playing an essential role in this process
A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL
Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
AGN STORM 2. I. First results: A Change in the Weather of Mrk 817
We present the first results from the ongoing, intensive, multiwavelength monitoring program of the luminous Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 817. While this active galactic nucleus was, in part, selected for its historically unobscured nature, we discovered that the X-ray spectrum is highly absorbed, and there are new blueshifted, broad, and narrow UV absorption lines, which suggest that a dust-free, ionized obscurer located at the inner broad-line region partially covers the central source. Despite the obscuration, we measure UV and optical continuum reverberation lags consistent with a centrally illuminated Shakura–Sunyaev thin accretion disk, and measure reverberation lags associated with the optical broad-line region, as expected. However, in the first 55 days of the campaign, when the obscuration was becoming most extreme, we observe a de-coupling of the UV continuum and the UV broad emission-line variability. The correlation recovered in the next 42 days of the campaign, as Mrk 817 entered a less obscured state. The short C IV and Lyα lags suggest that the accretion disk extends beyond the UV broad-line region. Unified
AGN STORM 2. IV. Swift X-ray and ultraviolet/optical monitoring of Mrk 817
The AGN STORM 2 campaign is a large, multiwavelength reverberation mapping
project designed to trace out the structure of Mrk 817 from the inner accretion
disk to the broad emission line region and out to the dusty torus. As part of
this campaign, Swift performed daily monitoring of Mrk 817 for approximately 15
months, obtaining observations in X-rays and six UV/optical filters. The X-ray
monitoring shows that Mrk 817 was in a significantly fainter state than in
previous observations, with only a brief flare where it reached prior flux
levels. The X-ray spectrum is heavily obscured. The UV/optical light curves
show significant variability throughout the campaign and are well correlated
with one another, but uncorrelated with the X-rays. Combining the Swift
UV/optical light curves with Hubble UV continuum light curves, we measure
interband continuum lags, , that increase with increasing
wavelength roughly following , the
dependence expected for a geometrically thin, optically thick, centrally
illuminated disk. Modeling of the light curves reveals a period at the
beginning of the campaign where the response of the continuum is suppressed
compared to later in the light curve - the light curves are not simple shifted
and scaled versions of each other. The interval of suppressed response
corresponds to a period of high UV line and X-ray absorption, and reduced
emission line variability amplitudes. We suggest that this indicates a
significant contribution to the continuum from the broad line region gas that
sees an absorbed ionizing continuum.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
Loss of Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 4 Correlates with an Aggressive Phenotype and Predicts Poor Outcome in Ovarian Cancer Patients
Background: Activation of the Wnt signaling pathway is implicated in aberrant cellular proliferation in various cancers. In 40% of endometrioid ovarian cancers, constitutive activation of the pathway is due to oncogenic mutations in β-catenin or other inactivating mutations in key negative regulators. Secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) has been proposed to have inhibitory activity through binding and sequestering Wnt ligands. Methodology/Principal Findings: We performed RT-qPCR and Western-blotting in primary cultures and ovarian cell lines for SFRP4 and its key downstream regulators activated β-catenin, β-catenin and GSK3β. SFRP4 was then examined by immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 721 patients and due to its proposed secretory function, in plasma, presenting the first ELISA for SFRP4. SFRP4 was most highly expressed in tubal epithelium and decreased with malignant transformation, both on RNA and on protein level, where it was even more profound in the membrane fraction (p<0.0001). SFRP4 was expressed on the protein level in all histotypes of ovarian cancer but was decreased from borderline tumors to cancers and with loss of cellular differentiation. Loss of membrane expression was an independent predictor of poor survival in ovarian cancer patients (p = 0.02 unadjusted; p = 0.089 adjusted), which increased the risk of a patient to die from this disease by the factor 1.8. Conclusions/Significance: Our results support a role for SFRP4 as a tumor suppressor gene in ovarian cancers via inhibition of the Wnt signaling pathway. This has not only predictive implications but could also facilitate a therapeutic role using epigenetic targets
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