218 research outputs found
The Orbit of the Eclipsing X-ray Pulsar EXO 1722-363
With recent and archival Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) X-ray
measurements of the heavily obscured X-ray pulsar EXO 1722-363 (IGR
J17252-3616), we carried out a pulse timing analysis to determine the orbital
solution for the first time. The binary system is characterized by a_x sin(i) =
101 +/- 3 lt-s and P_orb = 9.7403 +/- 0.0004 days (90% confidence), with the
precision of the orbital period being obtained by connecting datasets separated
by more than 7 years (272 orbital cycles). The orbit is consistent with
circular, and e < 0.19 at the 90% confidence level. The mass function is 11.7
+/- 1.2 M_sun and confirms that this source is a High Mass X-ray Binary (HMXB)
system. The orbital period, along with the previously known ~414 s pulse
period, places this system in the part of the Corbet diagram populated by
supergiant wind accretors. Using previous eclipse time measurements by Corbet
et al. and our orbital solution, combined with the assumption that the primary
underfills its Roche lobe, we find i > 61 degrees at the 99% confidence level,
the radius of the primary is between 21 R_sun and 37 R_sun, and its mass is
less than about 22 M_sun. The acceptable range of radius and mass shows that
the primary is probably a supergiant of spectral type B0I-B5I. Photometric
measurements of its likely counterpart are consistent with the spectral type
and luminosity if the distance to the system is between 5.3 kpc and 8.7 kpc.
Spectral analysis of the pulsar as a function of orbital phase reveals an
evolution of the hydrogen column density suggestive of dense filaments of gas
in the downstream wake of the pulsar, with higher levels of absorption seen at
orbital phases 0.5-1.0, as well as a variable Fe K_alpha line.Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 11 pages, 11 figure
HST/NICMOS observations of the GLIMPSE9 stellar cluster
We present HST/NICMOS photometry, and low-resolution K-band spectra of the
GLIMPSE9 stellar cluster. The newly obtained color-magnitude diagram shows a
cluster sequence with H-Ks =1 mag, indicating an interstellar extinction
Aks=1.6\pm0.2 mag. The spectra of the three brightest stars show deep CO
band-heads, which indicate red supergiants with spectral type M1-M2. Two 09-B2
supergiants are also identified, which yield a spectrophotometric distance of
4.2\pm0.4 kpc. Presuming that the population is coeval, we derive an age
between 15 and 27 Myr, and a total cluster mass of 1600\pm400 Msun, integrated
down to 1 Msun. In the vicinity of GLIMPSE9 are several HII regions and SNRs,
all of which (including GLIMPSE 9) are probably associated with a giant
molecular cloud (GMC) in the inner galaxy. GLIMPSE9 probably represents one
episode of massive star formation in this GMC. We have identified several other
candidate stellar clusters of the same complex.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures. accepted for publication in ApJ. A version with
high-resolution figures can be found at the following location
ftp://ftp.rssd.esa.int/pub/mmessine/ms.pdf New version with updated
reference
Anti-HTLV antibody profiling reveals an antibody signature for HTLV-I-Associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP)
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>HTLV-I is the causal agent of adult T cell leukemia (ATLL) and HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Biomarkers are needed to diagnose and/or predict patients who are at risk for HAM/TSP or ATLL. Therefore, we investigated using luciferase immunoprecipitation technology (LIPS) antibody responses to seven HTLV-I proteins in non-infected controls, asymptomatic HTLV-I-carriers, ATLL and HAM/TSP sera samples. Antibody profiles were correlated with viral load and examined in longitudinal samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Anti-GAG antibody titers detected by LIPS differentiated HTLV-infected subjects from uninfected controls with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity, but did not differ between HTLV-I infected subgroups. However, anti-Env antibody titers were over 4-fold higher in HAM/TSP compared to both asymptomatic HTLV-I (<it>P </it>< 0.0001) and ATLL patients (<it>P </it>< 0.0005). Anti-Env antibody titers above 100,000 LU had 75% positive predictive value and 79% negative predictive value for identifying the HAM/TSP sub-type. Anti-Tax antibody titers were also higher (<it>P </it>< 0.0005) in the HAM/TSP compared to the asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers. Proviral load correlated with anti-Env antibodies in asymptomatic carriers (<it>R </it>= 0.76), but not in HAM/TSP.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These studies indicate that anti-HTLV-I antibody responses detected by LIPS are useful for diagnosis and suggest that elevated anti-Env antibodies are a common feature found in HAM/TSP patients.</p
The X-ray Reflectors in the Nucleus of the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1068
(abridged) Based on observations of the Seyfert nucleus in NGC1068 with ASCA,
RXTE and BeppoSAX, we report the discovery of a flare (increase in flux by a
factor of ~1.6) in the 6.7 keV Fe K line component between observations
obtained 4 months apart, with no significant change in the other (6.21, 6.4,
and 6.97 keV) Fe K_alpha line components. During this time, the continuum flux
decreased by ~20%. The RXTE spectrum requires an Fe K absorption edge near 8.6
keV (Fe XXIII - XXV). The spectral data indicate that the 2-10 keV continuum
emission is dominated (~2/3 of the luminosity) by reflection from a previously
unidentified region of warm, ionized gas located <~ 0.2 pc from the AGN. The
remaining ~1/3 of the observed X-ray emission is reflected from optically
thick, neutral gas. The inferred properties of the warm reflector (WR) are:
size (diameter) ~ 10^{5.5} /cm3, ionization parameter
xi approx 10^{3.5} erg cm/s, and covering fraction 0.003 (L_0/10^{43.5}
erg/s)^{-1} < (Omega/4 pi) < 0.024 (L_0/10^{43.5})^{-1}, where L_0 is the
intrinsic 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity of the AGN. We suggest that the WR gas is
the source of the (variable) 6.7 keV Fe line emission, and the 6.97 keV Fe line
emission. The 6.7 keV line flare is assumed to be due to an increase in the
emissivity of the WR gas from a decrease (by 20-30%) in L_0. The properties of
the WR are most consistent with an intrinsically X-ray weak AGN with L_0 approx
10^{43.0} erg/s. The optical and UV emission that scatters from the WR into our
line of sight is required to suffer strong extinction, which can be reconciled
if the line-of-sight skims the outer surface of the torus. Thermal
bremsstrahlung radio emission from the WR may be detectable in VLBA radio maps
of the NGC 1068 nucleus.Comment: 39 pages (9 postscript figures) AASTEX, ApJ, accepte
A Study of 3CR Radio Galaxies from z = 0.15 to 0.65. II. Evidence for an Evolving Radio Structure
Radio structure parameters were measured from the highest quality radio maps
available for a sample of 3CR radio galaxies in the redshift range 0.15 < z <
0.65. Combined with similar data for quasars in the same redshift range, these
morphology data are used in conjunction with a quantification of the richness
of the cluster environment around these objects (the amplitude of the
galaxy-galaxy spatial covariance function, Bgg) to search for indirect evidence
of a dense intracluster medium (ICM). This is done by searching for confinement
and distortions of the radio structure that are correlated with Bgg.
Correlations between physical size and hot spot placement with Bgg show
evidence for an ICM only at z 0.4,
suggesting an epoch of z ~ 0.4 for the formation of an ICM in these Abell
richness class 0-1, FR2-selected clusters. X-ray selected clusters at
comparable redshifts, which contain FR1 type sources exclusively, are
demonstrably richer than the FR2-selected clusters found in this study. The
majority of the radio sources with high Bgg values at z < 0.4 can be described
as ``fat doubles'' or intermediate FR2/FR1s. The lack of correlation between
Bgg and bending angle or Bgg and lobe length asymmetry suggests that these
types of radio source distortion are caused by something other than interaction
with a dense ICM. Thus, a large bending angle cannot be used as an unambiguous
indicator of a rich cluster around powerful radio sources. These results
support the hypothesis made in Paper 1 that cluster quasars fade to become
FR2s, then FR1s, on a timescale of 0.9 Gyrs (for H0 = 50 km s^-1 Mpc^-1).Comment: 44 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables; to be published in the September 2002
issue of The Astronomical Journa
Planck pre-launch status: calibration of the Low Frequency Instrument flight model radiometers
The Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) on-board the ESA Planck satellite carries
eleven radiometer subsystems, called Radiometer Chain Assemblies (RCAs), each
composed of a pair of pseudo-correlation receivers. We describe the on-ground
calibration campaign performed to qualify the flight model RCAs and to measure
their pre-launch performances. Each RCA was calibrated in a dedicated
flight-like cryogenic environment with the radiometer front-end cooled to 20K
and the back-end at 300K, and with an external input load cooled to 4K. A
matched load simulating a blackbody at different temperatures was placed in
front of the sky horn to derive basic radiometer properties such as noise
temperature, gain, and noise performance, e.g. 1/f noise. The spectral response
of each detector was measured as was their susceptibility to thermal variation.
All eleven LFI RCAs were calibrated. Instrumental parameters measured in these
tests, such as noise temperature, bandwidth, radiometer isolation, and
linearity, provide essential inputs to the Planck-LFI data analysis.Comment: 15 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Strategies to optimize the impact of nutritional surveys and epidemiological studies
The development of nutrition and health guidelines and policies requires reliable scientific information. Unfortunately, theoretical considerations and empirical evidence indicate that a large percentage of science-based claims rely on studies that fail to replicate. The session "Strategies to Optimize the Impact of Nutrition Surveys and Epidemiological Studies" focused on the elements of design, interpretation, and communication of nutritional surveys and epidemiological studies to enhance and encourage the production of reliable, objective evidence for use in developing dietary guidance for the public. The speakers called for more transparency of research, raw data, consistent data-staging techniques, and improved data analysis. New approaches to collecting data are urgently needed to increase the credibility and utility of findings from nutrition epidemiological studies. Such studies are critical for furthering our knowledge and understanding of the effects of diet on health
BioDMET: a physiologically based pharmacokinetic simulation tool for assessing proposed solutions to complex biological problems
We developed a detailed, whole-body physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling tool for calculating the distribution of pharmaceutical agents in the various tissues and organs of a human or animal as a function of time. Ordinary differential equations (ODEs) represent the circulation of body fluids through organs and tissues at the macroscopic level, and the biological transport mechanisms and biotransformations within cells and their organelles at the molecular scale. Each major organ in the body is modeled as composed of one or more tissues. Tissues are made up of cells and fluid spaces. The model accounts for the circulation of arterial and venous blood as well as lymph. Since its development was fueled by the need to accurately predict the pharmacokinetic properties of imaging agents, BioDMET is more complex than most PBPK models. The anatomical details of the model are important for the imaging simulation endpoints. Model complexity has also been crucial for quickly adapting the tool to different problems without the need to generate a new model for every problem. When simpler models are preferred, the non-critical compartments can be dynamically collapsed to reduce unnecessary complexity. BioDMET has been used for imaging feasibility calculations in oncology, neurology, cardiology, and diabetes. For this purpose, the time concentration data generated by the model is inputted into a physics-based image simulator to establish imageability criteria. These are then used to define agent and physiology property ranges required for successful imaging. BioDMET has lately been adapted to aid the development of antimicrobial therapeutics. Given a range of built-in features and its inherent flexibility to customization, the model can be used to study a variety of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic problems such as the effects of inter-individual differences and disease-states on drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, dosing optimization, and inter-species scaling. While developing a tool to aid imaging agent and drug development, we aimed at accelerating the acceptance and broad use of PBPK modeling by providing a free mechanistic PBPK software that is user friendly, easy to adapt to a wide range of problems even by non-programmers, provided with ready-to-use parameterized models and benchmarking data collected from the peer-reviewed literature
Use of conventional and alternative treatment strategies for a case of low back pain in a F/A-18 aviator
BACKGROUND: Low back pain can diminish jet pilot concentration and function during flight and be severe enough to ground pilots or cause decreased flying time. The objective of this case report is to present an example of the integration of chiropractic care with conventional treatments for the management of low back pain in a F/A-18 aviator. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient had insidious severe low back pain without radiation or neurological deficit, resulting in 24 hours of hospitalization. Spinal degeneration was discovered upon imaging. Four months later, it still took up to 10 minutes for him to get out of bed and several minutes to exit the jet due to stiffness and pain. He had discontinued his regular Marine Corps fitness training due to pain avoidance. Pain severity ranged from 1.5–7.1 cm on a visual analog scale. His Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire score was 5 out of 24. The pilot's pain was managed with the coordinated efforts of the flight surgeon, physiatrist, physical therapist, and doctor of chiropractic. Following this regimen he had no pain and no functional disability; he was able to fly multiple training missions per week and exercise to Marine Corps standards. CONCLUSION: A course of care integrating flight medicine, chiropractic, physical therapy, and physiatry appeared to alleviate pain and restore function to this F/A-18 aviator with low back pain
GASKAP -- The Galactic ASKAP Survey
A survey of the Milky Way disk and the Magellanic System at the wavelengths
of the 21-cm atomic hydrogen (HI) line and three 18-cm lines of the OH molecule
will be carried out with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder
telescope. The survey will study the distribution of HI emission and absorption
with unprecedented angular and velocity resolution, as well as molecular line
thermal emission, absorption, and maser lines. The area to be covered includes
the Galactic plane (|b|< 10deg) at all declinations south of delta = +40deg,
spanning longitudes 167deg through 360deg to 79deg at b=0deg, plus the entire
area of the Magellanic Stream and Clouds, a total of 13,020 square degrees. The
brightness temperature sensitivity will be very good, typically sigma_T ~ 1 K
at resolution 30arcsec and 1 km/s. The survey has a wide spectrum of scientific
goals, from studies of galaxy evolution to star formation, with particular
contributions to understanding stellar wind kinematics, the thermal phases of
the interstellar medium, the interaction between gas in the disk and halo, and
the dynamical and thermal states of gas at various positions along the
Magellanic Stream.Comment: 45 pages, 8 figures, Pub. Astron. Soc. Australia (in press
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