157 research outputs found
Hemotropic mycoplasmas in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus).
BackgroundHemotropic mycoplasmas are epicellular erythrocytic bacteria that can cause infectious anemia in some mammalian species. Worldwide, hemotropic mycoplasmas are emerging or re-emerging zoonotic pathogens potentially causing serious and significant health problems in wildlife. The objective of this study was to determine the molecular prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasma species in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) with and without Pseudogymnoascus (Geomyces) destrucans, the causative agent of white nose syndrome (WNS) that causes significant mortality events in bats.MethodsIn order to establish the prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasma species in a population of 68 little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) with (n = 53) and without (n = 15) white-nose syndrome (WNS), PCR was performed targeting the 16S rRNA gene.ResultsThe overall prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasmas in bats was 47%, with similar (p = 0.5725) prevalence between bats with WNS (49%) and without WNS (40%). 16S rDNA sequence analysis (~1,200 bp) supports the presence of a novel hemotropic Mycoplasma species with 91.75% sequence homology with Mycoplasma haemomuris. No differences were found in gene sequences generated from WNS and non-WNS animals.ConclusionsGene sequences generated from WNS and non-WNS animals suggest that little brown bats could serve as a natural reservoir for this potentially novel Mycoplasma species. Currently, there is minimal information about the prevalence, host-specificity, or the route of transmission of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. among bats. Finally, the potential role of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. as co-factors in the development of disease manifestations in bats, including WNS in Myotis lucifugus, remains to be elucidated
Pre-Existing Superbubbles as the Sites of Gamma-Ray Bursts
According to recent models, gamma-ray bursts apparently explode in a wide
variety of ambient densities ranging from ~ 10^{-3} to 30 cm^{-3}. The lowest
density environments seem, at first sight, to be incompatible with bursts in or
near molecular clouds or with dense stellar winds and hence with the
association of gamma-ray bursts with massive stars. We argue that low ambient
density regions naturally exist in areas of active star formation as the
interiors of superbubbles. The evolution of the interior bubble density as a
function of time for different assumptions about the evaporative or
hydrodynamical mass loading of the bubble interior is discussed. We present a
number of reasons why there should exist a large range of inferred afterglow
ambient densities whether gamma-ray bursts arise in massive stars or some
version of compact star coalescence. We predict that many gamma-ray bursts will
be identified with X-ray bright regions of galaxies, corresponding to
superbubbles, rather than with blue localized regions of star formation.
Massive star progenitors are expected to have their own circumstellar winds.
The lack of evidence for individual stellar winds associated with the
progenitor stars for the cases with afterglows in especially low density
environments may imply low wind densities and hence low mass loss rates
combined with high velocities. If gamma-ray bursts are associated with massive
stars, this combination might be expected for compact progenitors with
atmospheres dominated by carbon, oxygen or heavier elements, that is,
progenitors resembling Type Ic supernovae.Comment: 14 pages, no figures, submitted to The Astrophysical Journa
The Search for Supernova-produced Radionuclides in Terrestrial Deep-sea Archives
An enhanced concentration of 60Fe was found in a deep ocean's crust in 2004
in a layer corresponding to an age of ~2 Myr. The confirmation of this signal
in terrestrial archives as supernova-induced and detection of other
supernova-produced radionuclides is of great interest. We have identified two
suitable marine sediment cores from the South Australian Basin and estimated
the intensity of a possible signal of the supernova-produced radionuclides
26Al, 53Mn, 60Fe and the pure r-process element 244Pu in these cores. A finding
of these radionuclides in a sediment core might allow to improve the time
resolution of the signal and thus to link the signal to a supernova event in
the solar vicinity ~2 Myr ago. Furthermore, it gives an insight on
nucleosynthesis scenarios in massive stars, the condensation into dust grains
and transport mechanisms from the supernova shell into the solar system
Chandra ACIS Survey of M33 (ChASeM33): A First Look
We present an overview of the Chandra ACIS Survey of M33 (ChASeM33): A Deep
Survey of the Nearest Face-on Spiral Galaxy. The 1.4 Ms survey covers the
galaxy out to R \approx 18\arcmin (\approx 4 kpc). These data provide the
most intensive, high spatial resolution assessment of the X-ray source
populations available for the confused inner regions of M33. Mosaic images of
the ChASeM33 observations show several hundred individual X-ray sources as well
as soft diffuse emission from the hot interstellar medium. Bright, extended
emission surrounds the nucleus and is also seen from the giant \hii regions NGC
604 and IC 131. Fainter extended emission and numerous individual sources
appear to trace the inner spiral structure. The initial source catalog, arising
from ~2/3 of the expected survey data, includes 394 sources significant
at the confidence level or greater, down to a limiting luminosity
(absorbed) of 1.6\ergs{35} (0.35 -- 8.0 keV). The hardness ratios of the
sources separate those with soft, thermal spectra such as supernova remnants
from those with hard, non-thermal spectra such as X-ray binaries and background
active galactic nuclei. Emission extended beyond the Chandra point spread
function is evident in 23 of the 394 sources. Cross-correlation of the ChASeM33
sources against previous catalogs of X-ray sources in M33 results in matches
for the vast majority of the brighter sources and shows 28 ChASeM33 sources
within 10\arcsec of supernova remnants identified by prior optical and radio
searches. This brings the total number of such associations to 31 out of 100
known supernova remnants in M33.Comment: accepted for publication ApJS, full resolution images and complete
tables available at http://hea-www.harvard.edu/vlp_m33_public
Distribution and Kinematics of O VI in the Galactic Halo
FUSE spectra of 100 extragalactic objects are analyzed to obtain measures of
O VI absorption along paths through the Milky Way thick disk/halo. Strong O VI
absorption over the approximate velocity range from -100 to 100 km/s reveals a
widespread but highly irregular distribution of thick disk O VI, implying the
existence of substantial amounts of hot gas with T ~ 3x10^5 K in the Milky Way
halo. Large irregularities in the distribution of the absorbing gas are found
to be similar over angular scales extending from less than one to 180 degrees,
indicating a considerable amount of small and large scale structure in the gas.
The overall distribution of Galactic O VI is not well described by a
symmetrical plane-parallel layer of patchy O VI absorption. The simplest
departure from such a model that provides a reasonable fit to the observations
is a plane-parallel patchy absorbing layer with a scale height of 2.3 kpc, and
a 0.25 dex excess of O VI in the northern Galactic polar region. The O VI
absorption has a Doppler parameter b = 30 to 99 km/s, with an average value of
60 km/s . Thermal broadening alone cannot explain the large observed profile
widths. The average O VI absorption velocities toward high latitude objects
range from -46 to 82 km/s, with a sample average of 0 km/s and a standard
deviation of 21 km/s. O VI associated with the thick disk moves both toward and
away from the plane with roughly equal frequency. A combination of models
involving the radiative cooling of hot fountain gas, the cooling of supernova
bubbles in the halo, and the turbulent mixing of warm and hot halo gases is
required to explain the presence of O VI and other highly ionized atoms found
in the halo. (abbreviated)Comment: 70 pages, single-spaced, PDF format. Bound copies of this manuscript
and two accompanying articles are available upon request. Submitted to ApJ
Highly-Ionized High-Velocity Gas in the Vicinity of the Galaxy
We report the results of an extensive FUSE study of high velocity OVI
absorption along 102 complete sight lines through the Galactic halo. The high
velocity OVI traces a variety of phenomena, including tidal interactions with
the Magellanic Clouds, accretion of gas, outflow from the Galactic disk,
warm/hot gas interactions in a highly extended Galactic corona, and
intergalactic gas in the Local Group. We identify 85 high velocity OVI features
at velocities of -500 < v(LSR) < +500 km/s along 59 of the 102 sight lines.
Approximately 60% of the sky (and perhaps as much as 85%) is covered by high
velocity H+ associated with the high velocity OVI. Some of the OVI is
associated with known high velocity HI structures (e.g., the Magellanic Stream,
Complexes A and C), while some OVI features have no counterpart in HI 21cm
emission. The smaller dispersion in the OVI velocities in the GSR and LGSR
reference frames compared to the LSR is necessary (but not conclusive) evidence
that some of the clouds are extragalactic. Most of the OVI cannot be produced
by photoionization, even if the gas is irradiated by extragalactic background
radiation. Collisions in hot gas are the primary OVI ionization mechanism. We
favor production of some of the OVI at the boundaries between warm clouds and a
highly extended [R > 70 kpc], hot [T > 10^6 K], low-density [n < 10^-4 cm^-3]
Galactic corona or Local Group medium. A hot Galactic corona or Local Group
medium and the prevalence of high velocity OVI are consistent with predictions
of galaxy formation scenarios. Distinguishing between the various phenomena
producing high velocity OVI will require continuing studies of the distances,
kinematics, elemental abundances, and physical states of the different types of
high velocity OVI features found in this study. (abbreviated)Comment: 78 pages of text/tables + 31 figures, AASTeX preprint format. All
figures are in PNG format due to astro-ph space restrictions. Bound copies of
manuscript and two accompanying articles are available upon request.
Submitted to ApJ
The Hot Galactic Corona and the Soft X-ray Background
I characterize the global distribution of the 3/4 keV band background with a
simple model of the hot Galactic corona, plus an isotropic extragalactic
background. The corona is assumed to be approximately polytropic (index = 5/3)
and hydrostatic in the gravitational potential of the Galaxy. The model
accounts for X-ray absorption, and is constrained iteratively with the ROSAT
all-sky X-ray survey data. Regions where the data deviate significantly from
the model represent predominantly the Galactic disk and individual nearby hot
superbubbles. The global distribution of the background, outside these regions,
is well characterized by the model; the 1 sigma relative dispersion of the data
from the model is about 15%. The electron density and temperature of the corona
near the Sun are about 1.1 x 10^{-3} cm^{-3} and about 1.7 x 10^6 K. The same
model also explains well the 1.5 keV band background. The model prediction in
the 1/4 keV band, though largely uncertain, qualitatively shows large intensity
and spectral variations of the corona contribution across the sky.Comment: An invited talk at IAU Colloquium No. 166: The Local Bubble and
Beyond. 10 pages (including b/w figures). Color versions of Figs. 1 and 4 are
provided separately and may also be found at
www.astro.nwu.edu/astro/wqd/paper/hal
Pathway to the Square Kilometre Array - The German White Paper -
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is the most ambitious radio telescope ever
planned. With a collecting area of about a square kilometre, the SKA will be
far superior in sensitivity and observing speed to all current radio
facilities. The scientific capability promised by the SKA and its technological
challenges provide an ideal base for interdisciplinary research, technology
transfer, and collaboration between universities, research centres and
industry. The SKA in the radio regime and the European Extreme Large Telescope
(E-ELT) in the optical band are on the roadmap of the European Strategy Forum
for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and have been recognised as the essential
facilities for European research in astronomy.
This "White Paper" outlines the German science and R&D interests in the SKA
project and will provide the basis for future funding applications to secure
German involvement in the Square Kilometre Array.Comment: Editors: H. R. Kl\"ockner, M. Kramer, H. Falcke, D.J. Schwarz, A.
Eckart, G. Kauffmann, A. Zensus; 150 pages (low resolution- and colour-scale
images), published in July 2012, language English (including a foreword and
an executive summary in German), the original file is available via the MPIfR
homepag
The Acceleration of the Nebular Shells in Planetary Nebulae in the Milky Way Bulge
We present a systematic study of line widths in the [\ion{O}{3}]5007
and H lines for a sample of 86 planetary nebulae in the Milky Way bulge
based upon spectroscopy obtained at the \facility{Observatorio Astron\'omico
Nacional in the Sierra San Pedro M\'artir (OAN-SPM)} using the Manchester
Echelle Spectrograph. The planetary nebulae were selected with the intention of
simulating samples of bright extragalactic planetary nebulae. We separate the
planetary nebulae into two samples containing cooler and hotter central stars,
defined by the absence or presence, respectively, of the \ion{He}{2}
6560 line in the H spectra. This division separates samples of
younger and more evolved planetary nebulae. The sample of planetary nebulae
with hotter central stars has systematically larger line widths, larger radii,
lower electron densities, and lower H luminosities. The distributions of
these parameters in the two samples all differ at significance levels exceeding
99%. These differences are all in agreement with the expectations from
hydrodynamical models, but for the first time confirmed for a homogeneous and
statistically significant sample of galactic planetary nebulae. We interpret
these differences as evidence for the acceleration of the nebular shells during
the early evolution of these intrinsically bright planetary nebulae. As is the
case for planetary nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds, the acceleration of the
nebular shells appears to be the direct result of the evolution of the central
stars.Comment: accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa
- âŠ