GRB 130831a: Rise and demise of a magnetar at z = 0.5

Open Access.--14th Marcel Grossman Meeting On Recent Developments in Theoretical and Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics and Relativistic Field Theories; University of Rome "La Sapienza"Rome; Italy; 12 July 2015 through 18 July 2015; Code 142474.-- http://www.icra.it/mg/mg14/Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the brightest explosions in the universe, yet the properties of their energy sources are far from understood. Very important clues, however, can be deduced by studying the afterglows of these events. We present observations of GRB 130831A and its afterglow obtained with Swift, Chandra, and multiple ground-based observatories. This burst shows an uncommon drop in the X-ray light curve at about 100 ks after the trigger, with a decay slope of α 7. The standard Forward Shock (FS) model offers no explanation for such a behaviour. Instead, a model in which a newly born magnetar outflow powers the early X-ray emission is found to be viable. After the drop, the X-ray afterglow resumes its decay with a slope typical of FS emission. The optical emission, on the other hand, displays no clear break across the X-ray drop and its decay is consistent with that of the late X-rays. Using both the X-ray and optical data, we show that the FS model can explain the emission after 100 ks. We model our data to infer the kinetic energy of the ejecta and thus estimate the efficiency of a magnetar “central engine” of a GRB. Furthermore, we break down the energy budget of this GRB into prompt emission, late internal dissipation, kinetic energy of the relativistic ejecta, and compare it with the energy of the accompanying supernova, SN 2013fu. Copyright © 2018 by the Editors.All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Periodontitis and Outer Retinal Thickness: a Cross-Sectional Analysis of the United Kingdom Biobank Cohort

\ua9 2024 American Academy of OphthalmologyPurpose: Periodontitis, a ubiquitous severe gum disease affecting the teeth and surrounding alveolar bone, can heighten systemic inflammation. We investigated the association between very severe periodontitis and early biomarkers of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in individuals with no eye disease. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of the prospective community-based cohort United Kingdom (UK) Biobank. Participants: Sixty-seven thousand three hundred eleven UK residents aged 40 to 70 years recruited between 2006 and 2010 underwent retinal imaging. Methods: Macular-centered OCT images acquired at the baseline visit were segmented for retinal sublayer thicknesses. Very severe periodontitis was ascertained through a touchscreen questionnaire. Linear mixed effects regression modeled the association between very severe periodontitis and retinal sublayer thicknesses, adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, alcohol consumption, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, refractive error, and previous cataract surgery. Main Outcome Measures: Photoreceptor layer (PRL) and retinal pigment epithelium–Bruch\u27s membrane (RPE–BM) thicknesses. Results: Among 36 897 participants included in the analysis, 1571 (4.3%) reported very severe periodontitis. Affected individuals were older, lived in areas of greater socioeconomic deprivation, and were more likely to be hypertensive, diabetic, and current smokers (all P < 0.001). On average, those with very severe periodontitis were hyperopic (0.05 \ub1 2.27 diopters) while those unaffected were myopic (−0.29 \ub1 2.40 diopters, P < 0.001). Following adjusted analysis, very severe periodontitis was associated with thinner PRL (−0.55 μm, 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.97 to −0.12; P = 0.022) but there was no difference in RPE–BM thickness (0.00 μm, 95% CI, −0.12 to 0.13; P = 0.97). The association between PRL thickness and very severe periodontitis was modified by age (P < 0.001). Stratifying individuals by age, thinner PRL was seen among those aged 60 to 69 years with disease (−1.19 μm, 95% CI, −1.85 to −0.53; P < 0.001) but not among those aged < 60 years. Conclusions: Among those with no known eye disease, very severe periodontitis is statistically associated with a thinner PRL, consistent with incipient AMD. Optimizing oral hygiene may hold additional relevance for people at risk of degenerative retinal disease. Financial Disclosure(s): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article

A new polygenic score for refractive error improves detection of children at risk of high myopia but not the prediction of those at risk of myopic macular degeneration

Background High myopia (HM), defined as a spherical equivalent refractive error (SER) ≤ −6.00 diopters (D), is a leading cause of sight impairment, through myopic macular degeneration (MMD). We aimed to derive an improved polygenic score (PGS) for predicting children at risk of HM and to test if a PGS is predictive of MMD after accounting for SER. Methods The PGS was derived from genome-wide association studies in participants of UK Biobank, CREAM Consortium, and Genetic Epidemiology Research on Adult Health and Aging. MMD severity was quantified by a deep learning algorithm. Prediction of HM was quantified as the area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC). Prediction of severe MMD was assessed by logistic regression. Findings In independent samples of European, African, South Asian and East Asian ancestry, the PGS explained 19% (95% confidence interval 17–21%), 2% (1–3%), 8% (7–10%) and 6% (3–9%) of the variation in SER, respectively. The AUROC for HM in these samples was 0.78 (0.75–0.81), 0.58 (0.53–0.64), 0.71 (0.69–0.74) and 0.67 (0.62–0.72), respectively. The PGS was not associated with the risk of MMD after accounting for SER: OR = 1.07 (0.92–1.24). Interpretation Performance of the PGS approached the level required for clinical utility in Europeans but not in other ancestries. A PGS for refractive error was not predictive of MMD risk once SER was accounted fo

Modelling the prompt and afterglow emission of gamma-ray bursts

This thesis studies the broadband behaviour of GRBs by fitting a detailed spectral/temporal model to both the prompt and afterglow hard and soft X-ray emission observed by the Swift satellite. The prompt emission is decomposed into pulses which are fitted individually while the afterglow is modelled using a smoothly varying broad pulse which evolves into a power-law decay at late times. Using this model a comprehensive study of GRB 080310 is presented and followed by similar analyses of GRB 061121, GRB 080810 and GRB 081008. The optical behaviour is found to be inconsistent with the high-energy model: a spectral break between the X-ray and optical band is necessary and for many prompt pulses the self-absorption mechanism is required. The latter three bursts have optical afterglows that are shown to be inconsistent with those fitted to the X-ray regime, peaking earlier in the lower energy bands and requiring a low-energy spectral break. The prompt optical emission seen from GRB 061121 has pulse-like features which match reasonably well with contemporaneous high-energy features, but have longer durations. The same model was used to study the expected evolution of GRB properties when moved to higher redshifts. Using a sample of bright Swift GRBs, the changes in measured duration with redshift were found to be driven by a combination of time dilation, gradual loss of pulse tails and sudden loss of pulses as the flux falls below instrumental sensitivity. A realistic sample of synthetic bursts is produced which, when simulated at high redshift, are found to be significantly longer in duration that the observed high redshift GRBs. Also demonstrated is that several bright bursts seen by Swift could be detected if they occurred at a redshift > 10 encouraging the use of GRBs as probes of the early Universe

A3_1_JupiterTemperature_v2

The blackbody temperature of Jupiter is calculated and found to be less than observational evidence suggests. Reasons for the discrepancy are discussed, favouring gravitational collapse during formation

A3_5_Observations of NewX-1(1436+32)_v2

An explanation for the observations of NewX-1(1436+32) (Raine, 2008) is provided in the form of a young O or B type star irradiating the surrounding interstellar medium, resulting in an extending cloud of ionized Hydrogen, which emits Hydrogen beta (Hβ) flux. The extent of the ionized cloud is investigated by evaluation of the Strömgren radius and is shown to be five orders of magnitude larger than the radius of a possible irradiating star

A3_3_Detection bias in the search for extrasolar planets

The detection of extra solar planets is discussed, with particular emphasis laid upon the radial velocity method. An expression for how detectable a planet is based on planetary mass is derived. To illustrate the difficulties in finding terrestrial planets, this formula is applied to the Earth-Sun system to find the fractional change in wavelength

A3_3_Detection bias in the search for extrasolar planets_v2

The detection of extra solar planets is discussed, with particular emphasis laid upon the radial velocity method. An expression for how detectable a planet is based on planetary mass is derived. To illustrate the difficulties in finding terrestrial planets, this formula is applied to the Earth-Sun system to find the fractional change in wavelength and shown to require a sensitivity approximately 103 times more sensitive than that needed to detect Hot Jupiters