TOGA-TAO : a moored array for real time measurements in the Tropical Pacific Ocean

The importance of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation phenomenon in year-to-year fluctuations of the global climate has led to efforts to improve the real-time ocean observing system is the TOGA-TOA (Tropical Atmosphere Ocean) array of wind and upper ocean thermistor chain moorings. This array, the result of an international effort, has already provided the rudiments of a basin-wide, real-time observing system and plans call for a major enhancement during the second half of the TOGA decade. The development of the TAO array is discussed, recent results from the pilot measurements are described, and plans for the expanded array are presented. (Résumé d'auteur

The thermal state of molecular clouds in the Galactic Center: evidence for non-photon-driven heating

We used the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) 12 m telescope to observe the J_KaKc=3_03-2_02, 3_22-2_21, and 3_21-2_20 transitions of para-H_2CO at 218 GHz simultaneously to determine kinetic temperatures of the dense gas in the central molecular zone (CMZ) of our Galaxy. The map extends over approximately 40 arcmin x 8 arcmin (~100x20 pc^2) along the Galactic plane with a linear resolution of 1.2 pc. The strongest of the three lines, the H_2CO (3_03-2_02) transition, is found to be widespread, and its emission shows a spatial distribution similar to ammonia. The relative abundance of para-H_2CO is 0.5-1.2 10^{-9}, which is consistent with results from lower frequency H_2CO absorption lines. Derived gas kinetic temperatures for individual molecular clouds range from 50 K to values in excess of 100 K. While a systematic trend toward (decreasing) kinetic temperature versus (increasing) angular distance from the Galactic center (GC) is not found, the clouds with highest temperature (T_kin > 100 K) are all located near the nucleus. For the molecular gas outside the dense clouds, the average kinetic temperature is 65+/-10 K. The high temperatures of molecular clouds on large scales in the GC region may be driven by turbulent energy dissipation and/or cosmic-rays instead of photons. Such a non-photon-driven thermal state of the molecular gas provides an excellent template for the more distant vigorous starbursts found in ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs).Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, A&A in pres

Astronomy: Starbursts near and far

Observations of intensely bright star-forming galaxies both close by and in the distant Universe at first glance seem to emphasize their similarity. But look a little closer, and differences emerge.Comment: 6 pages including 1 figur

Awareness of consequences in agenesis of the corpus callosum: Semantic analysis of responses

Objective: Agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC) in individuals with general intelligence within the normal range results in a syndrome of mild to moderate deficiencies in cognitive, emotional, and social functioning that are still being explored. Anecdotal accounts from families suggest that these cognitive and psychosocial deficiencies affect the ability of these individuals to anticipate the consequences of their decisions and behaviors. This research was designed to clarify the nature of social and emotional cognition in AgCC with respect to imagination of the consequences of decisions by assessing responses from the Awareness of Consequences Scale (AOCS). Method: Verbal AOCS responses from persons with AgCC and age and IQ-matched neurotypical controls were scored in the normal manner, and also subjected to semantic analyses using both latent semantic analysis and Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. Results: It was found that, relative to neurotypical controls, individuals with AgCC scored significantly lower on the typical scoring of the AOCS, had nontypical semantic content in their responses, and used fewer emotion and cognitive content (insight) words. These results were apparent in responses to the three most complex of the AOCS scenarios. Conclusions: Results were consistent with the hypothesis that persons with AgCC are deficient in the capacity to imagine the emotional and cognitive consequences of potential actions on others. particularly in the face of greater situational and social complexity

Hydrographic observations from the US/PRC Cooperative Program in the Western Equatorial Pacific Ocean, cruises 5-8

In support of the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program, investigators from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), and the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) from both Qingdao (First Institute) and Guangzhou (South China Sea Branch) conducted hydrographic observations aboard the Chinese R/V Xiang Yang Hong 14 in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean. The objective of this component of the TOGA program was to document the water mass property distributions of the western equatorial Pacific and describe the oceanic velocity field. The four cruises summarized here were conducted during the period November 1988 to July 1990 and are the final half of an eight cruise repeated survey of the region begun in 1985. Conductivity-Temperature-Depth-Oxygen (CTD/O2) stations were collected to a minimum cast depth of 2500m or the bottom when shallower. The cruises reoccupied the same stations to provide temporal information. Summarized listings of CTD/02 data together with selected physical properties of sea water for these cruises are provided here, as well as a description of the hardware used and an explanation of the data reduction techniques employed.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant No. NA85AA-D-AC117

Redshifted formaldehyde from the gravitational lens B0218+357

The gravitational lens toward B0218+357 offers the unique possibility to study cool moderately dense gas with high sensitivity and angular resolution in a cloud that existed half a Hubble time ago. Observations of the radio continuum and six formaldehyde (H2CO) lines were carried out with the VLA, the Plateau de Bure interferometer, and the Effelsberg 100-m telescope. Three radio continuum maps indicate a flux density ratio between the two main images, A and B, of ~ 3.4 +/- 0.2. Within the errors the ratio is the same at 8.6, 14.1, and 43 GHz. The 1_{01}-0_{00} line of para-H2CO is shown to absorb the continuum of image A. Large Velocity Gradient radiative transfer calculations are performed to reproduce the optical depths of the observed two cm-wave "K-doublet" and four mm-wave rotational lines. These calculations also account for a likely frequency-dependent continuum cloud coverage. Confirming the diffuse nature of the cloud, an n(H2) density of < 1000 cm^{-3} is derived, with the best fit suggesting n(H2) ~ 200 cm^{-3}. The H2CO column density of the main velocity component is ~5 * 10^{13} cm^{-2}, to which about 7.5 * 10^{12} cm^{-2} has to be added to also account for a weaker feature on the blue side, 13 km/s apart. N(H2CO)/N(NH3) ~ 0.6, which is four times less than the average ratio obtained from a small number of local diffuse (galactic) clouds seen in absorption. The ortho-to-para H2CO abundance ratio is 2.0 - 3.0, which is consistent with the kinetic temperature of the molecular gas associated with the lens of B0218+357. With the gas kinetic temperature and density known, it is found that optically thin transitions of CS, HCN, HNC, HCO+, and N2H+ (but not CO) will provide excellent probes of the cosmic microwave background at redshift z=0.68.Comment: Accepted for A&A, 8 Pages, 3 Figures, 5 Table

A study of three southern high-mass star-forming regions

Based on color-selected IRAS point sources, we have started to conduct a survey of 47 high-mass star-forming regions in the southern hemisphere in 870um dust continuum and molecular line emission in several frequency ranges between 290 GHz and 806 GHz. This paper describes the pilot study of the three sources IRAS12326-6245, IRAS16060-5146, and IRAS16065-5158. To characterize the physical and chemical properties of southern massive star-forming regions, the three high-luminosity southern hemisphere hot cores were observed with APEX in five frequency setups aimed at groups of lines from the following molecules: CH3OH, H2CO, and CH3CN. Using the LTE approximation, temperatures, source sizes, and column densities were determined through modeling of synthetic spectra with the XCLASS program. Dust continuum observations were done with the Large APEX BOlometer CAmera (LABOCA) at 870um and the 3mm continuum was imaged with the ATCA. Based on the detection of high-excitation CH3CN lines and lines from complex organic species, the three sources are classified as line rich, hot core type sources. For all three, the modeling indicates that the line emission emerges from a combination of an extended, cooler envelope, and a hot compact component. All three sources show an overabundance of oxygen-bearing species compared to nitrogen-bearing species. Based on the results obtained in the three sources, which served as templates for the survey, the most promising (and feasible) frequency setups for the remaining 44 sources were decided upon.Comment: 18 pages, 28 figures plus 23 pages online material; accepted for publication in A&

The Total Syntheses of JBIR-94 and Two Synthetic Analogs and Their Cytotoxicities Against A549 (CCL-185) Human Small Lung Cancer Cells

We here disclose the total syntheses of the natural polyphenol JBIR-94 and two nonnatural analogs, whose structures are of interest for their bioactivity potential as radical scavengers. Although we initially attempted this by dually acylating both of putrecine’s amine nitrogens in a single pot, our endeavors with this method (which has been successfully reported by other groups) proved ineffectual. We accordingly opted for the lengthier approach of acylating each amine individually, which gratuitously prevailed and also aligns with separate literature precedent. Moreover, we here share our analysis of these target compounds’ cytotoxicities and IC50 values against A549 (CCL-185) human small lung cancer cells