228 research outputs found
Investigation of melt-grown dilute GaAsN and GaInAsN nanostructures for photovoltaics
AbstractThe present work demonstrates the possibility to use liquid phase epitaxy to incorporate nitrogen in epitaxial GaAsN/GaAs and GaInAsN/GaAs heterostructures, including nanoscaled ones. The structures are grown from Ga - and GaIn - melts containing polycrystalline GaN as a nitrogen source. The red shift of the absorption spectra corresponds to nitrogen content in the epitaxial layers near or less than 0.2 at %. Photoluminescence spectra of dilute nitride GaAsN and GaInAsN show emission from localized nitrogen states - N-nanoclusters of more than two N atoms. These studies show that the melt grown dilute GaAsN and GaInAsN nanostructures can be used for solar cells with extended long wavelength edge
COSMOGRAIL: the COSmological MOnitoring of GRAvItational Lenses IX. Time delays, lens dynamics and baryonic fraction in HE 0435-1223
We present accurate time delays for the quadruply imaged quasar HE 0435-1223.
The delays were measured from 575 independent photometric points obtained in
the R-band between January 2004 and March 2010. With seven years of data, we
clearly show that quasar image A is affected by strong microlensing variations
and that the time delays are best expressed relative to quasar image B. We
measured Delta_t(BC) = 7.8+/-0.8 days, Delta_t(BD) = -6.5+/-0.7 days and
Delta_t_CD = -14.3+/-0.8 days. We spacially deconvolved HST NICMOS2 F160W
images to derive accurate astrometry of the quasar images and to infer the
light profile of the lensing galaxy. We combined these images with a stellar
population fitting of a deep VLT spectrum of the lensing galaxy to estimate the
baryonic fraction, , in the Einstein radius. We measured f_b =
0.65+0.13-0.10 if the lensing galaxy has a Salpeter IMF and f_b =
0.45+0.04-0.07 if it has a Kroupa IMF. The spectrum also allowed us to estimate
the velocity dispersion of the lensing galaxy, sigma_ap = 222+/-34 km/s. We
used f_b and sigma_ap to constrain an analytical model of the lensing galaxy
composed of an Hernquist plus generalized NFW profile. We solve the Jeans
equations numerically for the model and explored the parameter space under the
additional requirement that the model must predict the correct astrometry for
the quasar images. Given the current error bars on f_b and sigma_ap, we did not
constrain H0 yet with high accuracy, i.e., we found a broad range of models
with chi^2 < 1. However, narrowing this range is possible, provided a better
velocity dispersion measurement becomes available. In addition, increasing the
depth of the current HST imaging data of HE 0435-1223 will allow us to combine
our constraints with lens reconstruction techniques that make use of the full
Einstein ring that is visible in this object.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, final version accepted for publication by A&
MIUSCAT: extended MILES spectral coverage. I. Stellar populations synthesis models
We extend the spectral range of our stellar population synthesis models based
on the MILES and CaT empirical stellar spectral libraries. For this purpose we
combine these two libraries with the Indo-U.S. to construct composite stellar
spectra to feed our models. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) computed
with these models and the originally published models are combined to construct
composite SEDs for single-age, single-metallicity stellar populations (SSPs)
covering the range 3465 - 9469\AA at moderately high, and uniform, resolution
(FWHM=2.51\AA). The colours derived from these SSP SEDs provide good fits to
Galactic globular cluster data. We find that the colours involving redder
filters are very sensitive to the IMF, as well as a number of features and
molecular bands throughout the spectra. To illustrate the potential use of
these models we focus on the NaI doublet at 8200 \AA and with the aid of the
newly synthesized SSP model SEDs we define a new IMF-sensitive index that is
based on this feature, which overcomes various limitations from previous index
definitions for low velocity dispersion stellar systems. We propose an
index-index diagram based on this feature and the neighboring CaII triplet at
8600 \AA, to constrain the IMF if the age and [Na/Fe] abundance are known.
Finally we also show a survey-oriented spectrophotometric application which
evidences the accurate flux calibration of these models for carrying out
reliable spectral fitting techniques. These models are available through our
user-friendly website.Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables; MNRAS in press. Model predictions
available at our website: http://miles.iac.e
Stellar populations of bulges at low redshift
This chapter summarizes our current understanding of the stellar population
properties of bulges and outlines important future research directions.Comment: Review article to appear in "Galactic Bulges", Editors: Laurikainen
E., Peletier R., Gadotti D., Springer Publishing. 34 pages, 12 figure
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
Fitting the integrated Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies
Fitting the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies is an almost
universally used technique that has matured significantly in the last decade.
Model predictions and fitting procedures have improved significantly over this
time, attempting to keep up with the vastly increased volume and quality of
available data. We review here the field of SED fitting, describing the
modelling of ultraviolet to infrared galaxy SEDs, the creation of
multiwavelength data sets, and the methods used to fit model SEDs to observed
galaxy data sets. We touch upon the achievements and challenges in the major
ingredients of SED fitting, with a special emphasis on describing the interplay
between the quality of the available data, the quality of the available models,
and the best fitting technique to use in order to obtain a realistic
measurement as well as realistic uncertainties. We conclude that SED fitting
can be used effectively to derive a range of physical properties of galaxies,
such as redshift, stellar masses, star formation rates, dust masses, and
metallicities, with care taken not to over-interpret the available data. Yet
there still exist many issues such as estimating the age of the oldest stars in
a galaxy, finer details ofdust properties and dust-star geometry, and the
influences of poorly understood, luminous stellar types and phases. The
challenge for the coming years will be to improve both the models and the
observational data sets to resolve these uncertainties. The present review will
be made available on an interactive, moderated web page (sedfitting.org), where
the community can access and change the text. The intention is to expand the
text and keep it up to date over the coming years.Comment: 54 pages, 26 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics &
Space Scienc
The epidemiology of chronic pain in Libya: a cross-sectional telephone survey.
BACKGROUND: Chronic pain is a public health problem although there is a paucity of prevalence data from countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of chronic pain and neuropathic pain in a sample of the general adult population in Libya. METHODS: A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted before the onset of the Libyan Civil War (February 2011) on a sample of self-declared Libyans who had a landline telephone and were at least 18 years of age. Random sampling of household telephone number dialling was undertaken in three major cities and interviews conducted using an Arabic version of the Structured Telephone Interviews Questionnaire on Chronic Pain previously used to collect data in Europe. In addition, an Arabic version of S-LANSS was used. 1212 individuals were interviewed (response rate = 95.1 %, mean age = 37.8 ± 13.9 years, female = 54.6 %). RESULTS: The prevalence of chronic pain ≥ 3 months was 19.6 % (95 % CI 14.6 % to 24.6 %) with a mean ± SD duration of pain of 6 · 5 ± 5 · 7 years and a higher prevalence for women. The prevalence of neuropathic pain in the respondents reporting chronic pain was 19 · 7 % (95 % CI 14 · 6-24 · 7), equivalent to 3 · 9 % (95 % CI 2 · 8 to 5 · 0 %) of the general adult population. Only, 71 (29 · 8 %) of respondents reported that their pain was being adequately controlled. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of chronic pain in the general adult population of Libya was approximately 20 % and comparable with Europe and North America. This suggests that chronic pain is a public health problem in Libya. Risk factors are being a woman, advanced age and unemployment. There is a need for improved health policies in Libya to ensure that patients with chronic pain receive effective management
Optimal design of water treatment processes
Predicted water shortages assign water treatment a leading role in improving water resources management. One of the main challenges associated with the processes remains early stage design of techno-economically optimised purification. This work addresses the current gap by undertaking a whole-system approach of flowsheet synthesis for the production of water at desired purity at minimum overall cost. The optimisation problem was formulated as a mixed-integer non-linear programming model. Two case studies were presented which incorporated the most common commercial technologies and the major pollution indicators, such as chemical oxygen demand, dissolved organic carbon, total suspended solids and total dissolved solids. The results were analysed and compared to existing guidelines in order to examine the applicability of the proposed approach
Preliminary analysis of immune activation in early onset type 2 diabetes
Introduction. First Nations and other Aboriginal children are disproportionately affected by cardiometabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes (T2D). In T2D, the disruption of insulin signalling can be driven by pro-inflammatory immunity. Pro-inflammatory responses can be fueled by toll-like receptors (TLR) on immune cells such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC, a white blood cell population). TLR4 can bind to lipids from bacteria and food sources activating PBMC to produce cytokines tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β. These cytokines can interfere with insulin signalling. Here, we seek to understand how TLR4 activation may be involved in early onset T2D. We hypothesized that immune cells from youth with T2D (n=8) would be more reactive upon TLR4 stimulation relative to cells from age and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls without T2D (n=8). Methods. Serum samples were assayed for adipokines (adiponectin and leptin), as well as cytokines. Freshly isolated PBMC were examined for immune reactivity upon culture with TLR4 ligands bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 2 and 0.2 ng/ml) and the fatty acid palmitate (200 µM). Culture supernatants were evaluated for the amount of TNF-α and IL-1β produced by PBMC. Results. Youth with T2D displayed lower median serum adiponectin levels compared to controls (395 vs. 904 ng/ml, p<0.05). PBMC isolated from youth with and without T2D produced similar levels of TNF-α and IL-1β after exposure to the higher LPS concentration. However, at the low LPS dose the T2D cohort exhibited enhanced IL-1β synthesis relative to the control cohort. Additionally, exposure to palmitate resulted in greater IL-1β synthesis in PBMCs isolated from youth with T2D versus controls (p<0.05). These differences in cytokine production corresponded to greater monocyte activation in the T2D cohort. Conclusion. These preliminary results suggest that cellular immune responses are exaggerated in T2D, particularly with respect to IL-1β activity. These studies aim to improve the understanding of the biology behind early onset T2D and its vascular complications that burden First Nations people
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