696 research outputs found
Globular Clusters and X-ray Point Sources in Centaurus A (NGC 5128)
We detect 353 X-ray point sources, mostly low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), in
four Chandra observations of Centaurus A (NGC 5128), the nearest giant
early-type galaxy, and correlate this point source population with the largest
available ensemble of confirmed and likely globular clusters associated with
this galaxy. Of the X-ray sources, 31 are coincident with 30 globular clusters
that are confirmed members of the galaxy by radial velocity measurement (2
X-ray sources match one globular cluster within our search radius), while 1
X-ray source coincides with a globular cluster resolved by HST images. Another
36 X-ray point sources match probable, but spectroscopically unconfirmed,
globular cluster candidates. The color distribution of globular clusters and
cluster candidates in Cen A is bimodal, and the probability that a red, metal
rich GC candidate contains an LMXB is at least 1.7 times that of a blue, metal
poor one. If we consider only spectroscopically confirmed GCs, this ratio
increases to ~3. We find that LMXBs appear preferentially in more luminous
(massive) GCs. These two effects are independent, and the latter is likely a
consequence of enhanced dynamical encounter rates in more massive clusters
which have on average denser cores. The X-ray luminosity functions of the LMXBs
found in GCs and of those that are unmatched with GCs reveal similar underlying
populations, though there is some indication that fewer X-ray faint LMXBs are
found in globular clusters than X-ray bright ones. Our results agree with
previous observations of the connection of GCs and LMXBs in early-type galaxies
and extend previous work on Centaurus A.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, Accepted for Publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
Deep Chandra Observations of Abell 2199: the Interplay between Merger-Induced Gas Motions and Nuclear Outbursts in a Cool Core Cluster
We present new Chandra observations of Abell 2199 that show evidence of gas
sloshing due to a minor merger, as well as impacts of the radio source, 3C 338,
hosted by the central galaxy, NGC 6166, on the intracluster gas. The new data
are consistent with previous evidence of a Mach 1.46 shock 100" from the
cluster center, although there is still no convincing evidence for the expected
temperature jump. Other interpretations of this feature are possible, but none
is fully satisfactory. Large scale asymmetries, including enhanced X-ray
emission 200" southwest of the cluster center and a plume of low entropy,
enriched gas reaching 50" to the north of the center, are signatures of gas
sloshing induced by core passage of a merging subcluster about 400 Myr ago. An
association between the unusual radio ridge and low entropy gas are consistent
with this feature being the remnant of a former radio jet that was swept away
from the AGN by gas sloshing. A large discrepancy between the energy required
to produce the 100" shock and the enthalpy of the outer radio lobes of 3C 338
suggests that the lobes were formed by a more recent, less powerful radio
outburst. Lack of evidence for shocks in the central 10" indicates that the
power of the jet now is some two orders of magnitude smaller than when the 100"
shock was formed.Comment: 17 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Genome-Wide Association Study of Tanning Phenotype in a Population of European Ancestry
We conducted a multistage genome-wide association study (GWAS) of tanning response after exposure to sunlight in over 9,000 men and women of European ancestry who live in the United States. An initial analysis of 528,173 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped on 2,287 women identified LOC401937 (rs966321) on chromosome 1 as a novel locus highly associated with tanning ability, and we confirmed this association in 870 women controls from a skin cancer case–control study with joint P-value=1.6 × 10−9. We further genotyped this SNP in two subsequent replication studies (one with 3,750 women and the other with 2,405 men). This association was not replicated in either of these two studies. We found that several SNPs reaching the genome-wide significance level are located in or adjacent to the loci previously known as pigmentation genes: MATP, IRF4, TYR, OCA2, and MC1R. Overall, these tanning ability–related loci are similar to the hair color–related loci previously reported in the GWAS of hair color
The optical spectra of X-shaped radio galaxies
X-shaped radio galaxies are defined by their peculiar large-scale radio
morphology. In addition to the classical double-lobed structure they have a
pair of low-luminosity wings that straddles the nucleus at almost right angles
to the active lobes, thus giving the impression of an 'X'. In this paper we
study for the first time the optical spectral properties of this object class
using a large sample (~50 sources). We find that the X-shaped radio population
is composed roughly equally of sources with weak and strong emission line
spectra, which makes them, in combination with the well-known fact that they
preferentially have radio powers intermediate between those of Fanaroff-Riley
type I (FR I) and type II (FR II) radio galaxies, the archetypal transition
population. We do not find evidence in support of the proposition that the
X-shape is the result of a recent merger: X-shaped radio sources do not have
unusually broad emission lines, their nuclear environments are in general not
dusty, and their host galaxies do not show signs of enhanced star formation.
Instead, we observe that the nuclear regions of X-shaped radio sources have
relatively high temperatures. This finding favours models, which propose that
the X-shape is the result of an overpressured environment.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted by MNRA
Megafauna extinction, tree species range reduction, and carbon storage in Amazonian forests
During the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene 59 species of South American megafauna went extinct. Their extinction potentially triggered population declines of large-seeded tree species dispersed by the large-bodied frugivores with which they co-evolved, a theory first proposed by Janzen and Martin (1982). We tested this hypothesis using species range maps for 257 South American tree species, comparing 63 species thought to be primarily distributed by megafauna with 194 distributed by other animals. We found a highly significant (p 95% following disperser extinction. A numerical gap dynamic simulations suggests that over a 10 000 yr period following the disperser extinctions, the average convex hull range size of large-seeded tree species decreased by ∼ 31%, while the estimated decrease in population size was ∼ 54%, indicating a likely greater decrease in species population size than indicated by the empirical range patterns. Finally, we found a positive correlation between seed size and wood density of animal-dispersed tree species implying that the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene megafaunal extinctions reduced carbon content in the Amazon by ∼ 1.5 ± 0.7%. In conclusion, we 1) provide some empirical evidence that megafauna distributed fruit species have a smaller mean range size than wind, water or other animal-dispersed species, 2) demonstrate mathematically that such range reductions are expected from megafauna extinctions ca 12 000 yr ago, and 3) illustrate that these extinctions may have reduced the Amazon's carbon storage capacity
Centerscope
Centerscope, formerly Scope, was published by the Boston University Medical Center "to communicate the concern of the Medical Center for the development and maintenance of improved health care in contemporary society.
Fine-mapping identifies multiple prostate cancer risk loci at 5p15, one of which associates with TERT expression
Associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 5p15 and multiple cancer types have been reported. We have previously shown evidence for a strong association between prostate cancer (PrCa) risk and rs2242652 at 5p15, intronic in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene that encodes TERT. To comprehensively evaluate the association between genetic variation across this region and PrCa, we performed a fine-mapping analysis by genotyping 134 SNPs using a custom Illumina iSelect array or Sequenom MassArray iPlex, followed by imputation of 1094 SNPs in 22 301 PrCa cases and 22 320 controls in The PRACTICAL consortium. Multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis identified four signals in the promoter or intronic regions of TERT that independently associated with PrCa risk. Gene expression analysis of normal prostate tissue showed evidence that SNPs within one of these regions also associated with TERT expression, providing a potential mechanism for predisposition to disease
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