293 research outputs found
Use of Sysmex XE-2100 and XE-5000 hematology analyzers for the diagnosis of malaria in a nonendemic country (France).
INTRODUCTION: Most studies dealing with automated hematology analyzers (HAs) and malaria diagnosis are conducted in endemic countries.
METHODS: We retrospectively studied cell blood counts (CBCs) performed with Sysmex XE-2100 and XE-5000 HAs in our center (Angers, France) regarding 67 patients returning from endemic areas and infected with various Plasmodium species.
RESULTS: In 83% of infected samples with Plasmodium vivax (Pv), ovale (Po), or malariae (Pm), extra clouds of dots were present in neutrophil and/or eosinophil area(s) on routine differential (DIFF) scattergrams. In contrast, samples infected with Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) failed to show such DIFF scattergrams, or any other suggesting malaria infection (0/ 49 pts). Abnormal areas from DIFF scattergrams were related to the presence of mature schizonts and gametocytes, undestroyed by lysis agent, the latter not observed in Pf-infected patients from our series. The internal parameter WBC[DIFF]Â -Â WBC[BASO] raised in parallel to parasitemia in Pv, Po, and Pm samples but could not be used as a surrogate for parasitemia. In Pf infection, reticulocyte/ immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF) ratio showed a significant correlation with parasitemia (PÂ <Â 0.05). A diagnostic model developed for Pf in endemic countries showed sensitivity of 77%.
CONCLUSION: Using SYSMEX analyzers, Pv, Po, and Pm infections are easy to ascertain as DIFF scattergrams are almost specific (specificity = 99.9%). Pf infection diagnosis by CBC may be a more promising tool
Hubble Space Telescope Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of the Recurrent Nova T Pyxidis
With six recorded nova outbursts, the prototypical recurrent nova T Pyxidis
is the ideal cataclysmic variable system to assess the net change of the white
dwarf mass within a nova cycle. Recent estimates of the mass ejected in the
2011 outburst ranged from a few 1.E-5 sollar mass to 3.3E-4 sollar mass, and
assuming a mass accretion rate of 1.E-8 to 1.E-7 Sollar mass/yr for 44yrs, it
has been concluded that the white dwaf in T Pyx is actually losing mass. Using
NLTE disk modeling spectra to fit our recently obtained Hubble Space Telescope
(HST) COS and STIS spectra, we find a mass accretion rate of up to two orders
of magnitude larger than previously estimated. Our larger mass accretion rate
is due mainly to the newly derived distance of T Pyx (4.8kpc; Sokoloski et al.
2013, larger than the previous 3.5kpc estimate), our derived reddening of
E(B-V)=0.35 (based on combined IUE and GALEX spectra) and NLTE disk modeling
(compared to black body and raw flux estimates in earlier works). We find that
for most values of the reddening (0.25 < E(B-V) < 0.50) and white dwaf mass
(0.70 to 1.35 Sollar mass) the accreted mass is larger than the ejected mass.
Only for a low reddening (0.25 and smaller) combined with a large white dwaf
mass (0.9 sollar mass and larger) is the ejected mass larger than the accreted
one. However, the best spectral fitting results are obtained for a larger value
of the reddening.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal Letter, in pres
Low frequency Raman studies of multi-wall carbon nanotubes: experiments and theory
In this paper, we investigate the low frequency Raman spectra of multi-wall
carbon nanotubes (MWNT) prepared by the electric arc method. Low frequency
Raman modes are unambiguously identified on purified samples thanks to the
small internal diameter of the MWNT. We propose a model to describe these
modes. They originate from the radial breathing vibrations of the individual
walls coupled through the Van der Waals interaction between adjacent concentric
walls. The intensity of the modes is described in the framework of bond
polarization theory. Using this model and the structural characteristics of the
nanotubes obtained from transmission electron microscopy allows to simulate the
experimental low frequency Raman spectra with an excellent agreement. It
suggests that Raman spectroscopy can be as useful regarding the
characterization of MWNT as it is in the case of single-wall nanotubes.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps fig., 2 jpeg fig., RevTex, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Dynamics of antibiotic resistance genes and presence of putative pathogens during ambient temperature anaerobic digestion.
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Previous issue date: 2015-03-03201
White Dwarf Heating and Subsequent Cooling in Dwarf Nova Outbursts
We follow the time dependent thermal evolution of a white dwarf (WD)
undergoing sudden accretion in a dwarf nova outburst, using both simulations
and analytic estimates. The post-outburst lightcurve clearly separates into
early times when the WD flux is high, and late times when the flux is near the
quiescent level. The break between these two regimes, occurring at a time of
order the outburst duration, corresponds to a thermal diffusion wave reaching
the base of the freshly accreted layer. Our principal result is that long after
the outburst, the fractional flux perturbation about the quiescent flux decays
as a power law with time (and {\it not} as an exponential). We use this result
to construct a simple fitting formula that yields estimates for both the
quiescent flux and the accreted column, i.e. the total accreted mass divided by
WD surface area. The WD mass is not well constrained by the late time
lightcurve alone, but it can be inferred if the accreted mass is known from
observations. We compare our work with the well-studied outburst of WZ Sge,
finding that the cooling is well described by our model, giving an effective
temperature and accreted column , in agreement with the modeling of Godon et al.
To reconcile this accreted column with the accreted mass inferred from the
bolometric accretion luminosity, a large WD mass is needed.
Our power law result is a valuable tool for making quick estimates of the
outburst properties. We show that fitting the late time lightcurve with this
formula yields a predicted column within 20% of that estimated from our full
numerical calculations.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, 10 pages, 8
figure
Hubble Space Telescope Observations of UV Oscillations in WZ Sagittae During the Decline from Outburst
We present a time series analysis of Hubble Space Telescope observations of
WZ Sge obtained in 2001 September, October, November and December as WZ Sge
declined from its 2001 July superoutburst. Previous analysis of these data
showed the temperature of the white dwarf decreased from ~29,000 K to ~18,000
K. In this study we binned the spectra over wavelength to yield ultraviolet
light curves at each epoch that were then analyzed for the presence of the
well-known 27.87 s and 28.96 s oscillations. We detect the 29 s periodicity at
all four epochs, but the 28 s periodicity is absent. The origin of these
oscillations has been debated since their discovery in the 1970s and competing
hypotheses are based on either white dwarf non-radial g-mode pulsations or
magnetically-channelled accretion onto a rotating white dwarf. By analogy with
the ZZ Ceti stars, we argue that the non-radial g-mode pulsation model demands
a strong dependence of pulse period on the white dwarf's temperature. However,
these observations show the 29 s oscillation is independent of the white
dwarf's temperature. Thus we reject the white dwarf non-radial g-mode pulsation
hypothesis as the sole origin of the oscillations. It remains unclear if
magnetically-funnelled accretion onto a rapidly rotating white dwarf (or belt
on the white dwarf) is responsible for producing the oscillations. We also
report the detection of a QPO with period ~18 s in the September light curve.
The amplitudes of the 29 s oscillation and the QPO vary erratically on short
timescales and are not correlated with the mean system brightness nor with each
other.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in Ap
Forced oscillations in a hydrodynamical accretion disk and QPOs
This is the second of a series of papers aimed to look for an explanation on
the generation of high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in
accretion disks around neutron star, black hole, and white dwarf binaries. The
model is inspired by the general idea of a resonance mechanism in the accretion
disk oscillations as was already pointed out by Abramowicz & Klu{\'z}niak
(\cite{Abramowicz2001}). In a first paper (P\'etri \cite{Petri2005a}, paper I),
we showed that a rotating misaligned magnetic field of a neutron star gives
rise to some resonances close to the inner edge of the accretion disk. In this
second paper, we suggest that this process does also exist for an asymmetry in
the gravitational potential of the compact object. We prove that the same
physics applies, at least in the linear stage of the response to the
disturbance in the system. This kind of asymmetry is well suited for neutron
stars or white dwarfs possessing an inhomogeneous interior allowing for a
deviation from a perfectly spherically symmetric gravitational field. We show
by a linear analysis that the disk initially in a cylindrically symmetric
stationary state is subject to three kinds of resonances: a corotation
resonance, a Lindblad resonance due to a driven force and a parametric sonance.
The highest kHz QPOs are then interpreted as the orbital frequency of the disk
at locations where the response to the resonances are maximal. It is also found
that strong gravity is not required to excite the resonances.Comment: Accepte
On the accretion disc properties in eclipsing dwarf nova EM Cyg
In this paper we analyzed the behavior of the unusual dwarf nova EM Cyg using
the data obtained in April-October, 2007 in Vyhorlat observatory (Slovak
Republic) and in September, 2006 in Crimean Astrophysical Observatory
(Ukraine). During our observations EM Cyg has shown outbursts in every 15-40
days. Because on the light curves of EM Cyg the partial eclipse of an accretion
disc is observed we applied the eclipse mapping technique to reconstruct the
temperature distribution in eclipsed parts of the disc. Calculations of the
accretion rate in the system were made for the quiescent and the outburst
states of activity for different distances.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted in Astrophysics and Space Scienc
The fight for accretion: discovery of intermittent mass transfer in BB Doradus in the low state
Our long-term photometric monitoring of southern nova-like cataclysmic
variables with the 1.3-m SMARTS telescope found BB Doradus fading from V ~ 14.3
towards a deep low state at V ~ 19.3 in April 2008. Here we present
time-resolved optical spectroscopy of BB Dor in this faint state in 2009. The
optical spectrum in quiescence is a composite of a hot white dwarf with Teff =
30000 +- 5000 K and a M3-4 secondary star with narrow emission lines (mainly of
the Balmer series and HeI) superposed. We associate these narrow profiles with
an origin on the donor star. Analysis of the radial velocity curve of the
H-alpha emission from the donor star allowed the measurement of an orbital
period of 0.154095 +- 0.000003 d (3.69828 +- 0.00007 h), different from all
previous estimates. We detected episodic accretion events which veiled the
spectra of both stars and radically changed the line profiles within a
timescale of tens of minutes. This shows that accretion is not completely
quenched in the low state. During these accretion episodes the line wings are
stronger and their radial velocity curve is delayed by ~ 0.2 cycle, similar to
that observed in SW Sex and AM Her stars in the high state, with respect to the
motion of the white dwarf. Two scenarios are proposed to explain the extra
emission: impact of the material on the outer edge of a cold, remnant accretion
disc, or the combined action of a moderately magnetic white dwarf (B1 <~ 5 MG)
and the magnetic activity of the donor star.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, accepted by MNRA
Living biointerfaces based on non-pathogenic bacteria to direct cell differentiation
Genetically modified Lactococcus lactis, non-pathogenic bacteria expressing the FNIII7-10 fibronectin fragment as a protein membrane have been used to create a living biointerface between synthetic materials and mammalian cells. This FNIII7-10 fragment comprises the RGD and PHSRN sequences of fibronectin to bind ι5β1 integrins and triggers signalling for cell adhesion, spreading and differentiation. We used L. lactis strain to colonize material surfaces and produce stable biofilms presenting the FNIII7-10 fragment readily available to cells. Biofilm density is easily tunable and remains stable for several days. Murine C2C12 myoblasts seeded over mature biofilms undergo bipolar alignment and form differentiated myotubes, a process triggered by the FNIII7-10 fragment. This biointerface based on living bacteria can be further modified to express any desired biochemical signal, establishing a new paradigm in biomaterial surface functionalisation for biomedical applications
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