6,523 research outputs found
High-energy gamma-ray observations of the accreting black hole V404 Cygni during its June 2015 outburst
We report on Fermi/Large Area Telescope observations of the accreting black
hole low-mass X-ray binary V404 Cygni during its outburst in June-July 2015.
Detailed analyses reveal a possible excess of -ray emission on 26 June
2015, with a very soft spectrum above MeV, at a position consistent with
the direction of V404 Cyg (within the confidence region and a chance
probability of ). This emission cannot be associated with any
previously-known Fermi source. Its temporal coincidence with the brightest
radio and hard X-ray flare in the lightcurve of V404 Cyg, at the end of the
main active phase of its outburst, strengthens the association with V404 Cyg.
If the -ray emission is associated with V404 Cyg, the simultaneous
detection of keV annihilation emission by INTEGRAL requires that the
high-energy rays originate away from the corona, possibly in a
Blandford-Znajek jet. The data give support to models involving a
magnetically-arrested disk where a bright -ray jet can re-form after
the occurrence of a major transient ejection seen in the radio.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Nature of the H2-Emitting Gas in the Crab Nebula
Understanding how molecules and dust might have formed within a rapidly
expanding young supernova remnant is important because of the obvious
application to vigorous supernova activity at very high redshift. In previous
papers, we found that the H2 emission is often quite strong, correlates with
optical low-ionization emission lines, and has a surprisingly high excitation
temperature. Here we study Knot 51, a representative, bright example, for which
we have available long slit optical and NIR spectra covering emission lines
from ionized, neutral, and molecular gas, as well as HST visible and SOAR
Telescope NIR narrow-band images. We present a series of CLOUDY simulations to
probe the excitation mechanisms, formation processes and dust content in
environments that can produce the observed H2 emission. We do not try for an
exact match between model and observations given Knot 51's ambiguous geometry.
Rather, we aim to explain how the bright H2 emission lines can be formed from
within the volume of Knot 51 that also produces the observed optical emission
from ionized and neutral gas. Our models that are powered only by the Crab's
synchrotron radiation are ruled out because they cannot reproduce the strong,
thermal H2 emission. The simulations that come closest to fitting the
observations have the core of Knot 51 almost entirely atomic with the H2
emission coming from just a trace molecular component, and in which there is
extra heating. In this unusual environment, H2 forms primarily by associative
detachment rather than grain catalysis. In this picture, the 55 H2-emitting
cores that we have previously catalogued in the Crab have a total mass of about
0.1 M_sun, which is about 5% of the total mass of the system of filaments. We
also explore the effect of varying the dust abundance. We discuss possible
future observations that could further elucidate the nature of these H2 knots.Comment: 51 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, revised
Figure 12 results unchange
Alkane Biosynthesis in Bacteria
This is the author accepted manuscriptBiofuels are a commercial reality with ethanol comprising approximately 10% of the US retail fuel market, and biodiesels contributing a little under 5% to the EU retail fuel market. These biofuels are derived from the fermentation of sugars by yeast (ethanol) and from the chemical modification of animal fats and plant oils (biodiesel). However, these biofuel molecules are chemically distinct from the petroleum fuels that they are blended with. Petroleum-based fuels are predominantly composed of alkane and alkene hydrocarbons. These differences impact on fuel properties and infrastructure compatibility resulting in a “blend wall” that – without significant infrastructure realignment and associated costs – limits the use of biofuels. For this reason, there is great interest in biosynthetic routes for alkane and alkene production. Here we will review the known biological routes to alkane/alkene biosynthesis with a focus on bacterial alkane and alkene biosynthetic pathways. Specifically, we will review pathways for which the underlying genetic components have been identified. We will also investigate the development of engineered metabolic pathways that permit the production of alkanes and alkenes that are not naturally synthesized in bacteria (heterologous production) but are suitable for industrial commercial application. Finally, we will highlight some of the challenges facing this research area as it moves from proof-of-principle studies toward industrialization
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GENOME WIDE DNA METHYLATION PROFILING IS PREDICTIVE OF OUTCOME IN JUVENILE MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA
Pairing Correlations in the Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model
We present the results of a quantum Monte Carlo study of the extended and
the pairing correlation functions for the two-dimensional Hubbard
model, computed with the constrained-path method. For small lattice sizes and
weak interactions, we find that the pairing correlations are
stronger than the extended pairing correlations and are positive when the
pair separation exceeds several lattice constants. As the system size or the
interaction strength increases, the magnitude of the long-range part of both
correlation functions vanishes.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, 4 figures included; submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Vlasov Description Of Dense Quark Matter
We discuss properties of quark matter at finite baryon densities and zero
temperature in a Vlasov approach. We use a screened interquark Richardson's
potential consistent with the indications of Lattice QCD calculations.
We analyze the choices of the quark masses and the parameters entering the
potential which reproduce the binding energy (B.E.) of infinite nuclear matter.
There is a transition from nuclear to quark matter at densities 5 times above
normal nuclear matter density. The transition could be revealed from the
determination of the position of the shifted meson masses in dense baryonic
matter. A scaling form of the meson masses in dense matter is given.Comment: 15 pages 4 figure
A Dynamical Systems Hypothesis of Schizophrenia
We propose a top-down approach to the symptoms of schizophrenia based on a statistical dynamical framework. We show that a reduced depth in the basins of attraction of cortical attractor states destabilizes the activity at the network level due to the constant statistical fluctuations caused by the stochastic spiking of neurons. In integrate-and-fire network simulations, a decrease in the NMDA receptor conductances, which reduces the depth of the attractor basins, decreases the stability of short-term memory states and increases distractibility. The cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia such as distractibility, working memory deficits, or poor attention could be caused by this instability of attractor states in prefrontal cortical networks. Lower firing rates are also produced, and in the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex could account for the negative symptoms, including a reduction of emotions. Decreasing the GABA as well as the NMDA conductances produces not only switches between the attractor states, but also jumps from spontaneous activity into one of the attractors. We relate this to the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, including delusions, paranoia, and hallucinations, which may arise because the basins of attraction are shallow and there is instability in temporal lobe semantic memory networks, leading thoughts to move too freely round the attractor energy landscape
Theory of monolayers with boundaries: Exact results and Perturbative analysis
Domains and bubbles in tilted phases of Langmuir monolayers contain a class
of textures knows as boojums. The boundaries of such domains and bubbles may
display either cusp-like features or indentations. We derive analytic
expressions for the textures within domains and surrounding bubbles, and for
the shapes of the boundaries of these regions. The derivation is perturbative
in the deviation of the bounding curve from a circle. This method is not
expected to be accurate when the boundary suffers large distortions, but it
does provide important clues with regard to the influence of various energetic
terms on the order-parameter texture and the shape of the domain or bubble
bounding curve. We also look into the effects of thermal fluctuations, which
include a sample-size-dependent effective line tension.Comment: replaced with published version, 21 pages, 16 figures include
Detecting the rapidly expanding outer shell of the Crab Nebula: where to look
We present a range of steady-state photoionization simulations, corresponding
to different assumed shell geometries and compositions, of the unseen
postulated rapidly expanding outer shell to the Crab Nebula. The properties of
the shell are constrained by the mass that must lie within it, and by limits to
the intensities of hydrogen recombination lines. In all cases the
photoionization models predict very strong emission from high ionization lines
that will not be emitted by the Crab's filaments, alleviating problems with
detecting these lines in the presence of light scattered from brighter parts of
the Crab. The NIR [Ne VI] 7.652 m line is a particularly good
case; it should be dramatically brighter than the optical lines commonly used
in searches. The C IV doublet is predicted to be the strongest
absorption line from the shell, which is in agreement with HST observations. We
show that the cooling timescale for the outer shell is much longer than the age
of the Crab, due to the low density. This means that the temperature of the
shell will actually "remember" its initial conditions. However, the
recombination time is much shorter than the age of the Crab, so the predicted
level of ionization should approximate the real ionization. In any case, it is
clear that IR observations present the best opportunity to detect the outer
shell and so guide future models that will constrain early events in the
original explosion.Comment: Accepted by Ap
The relation of 12 lead ECG to the cardiac anatomy: The normal CineECG.
Abstract Background The interpretation of the 12‑lead ECG is notoriously difficult and requires experts to distinguish normal from abnormal ECG waveforms. ECG waveforms depend on body build and electrode positions, both often different in males and females. To relate the ECG waveforms to cardiac anatomical structures is even more difficult. The novel CineECG algorithm enables a direct projection of the 12‑lead ECG to the cardiac anatomy by computing the mean location of cardiac activity over time. The aim of this study is to investigate the cardiac locations of the CineECG derived from standard 12‑lead ECGs of normal subjects. Methods In this study we used 6525 12‑lead ECG tracings labelled as normal obtained from the certified Physionet PTB XL Diagnostic ECG Database to construct the CineECG. All 12 lead ECGs were analyzed, and then divided by age groups (18–29,30-39,40-49,50-59,60-69,70–100 years) and by gender (male/female). For each ECG, we computed the CineECG within a generic 3D heart/torso model. Based on these CineECG's, the average normal cardiac location and direction for QRS, STpeak, and TpeakTend segments were determined. Results The CineECG direction for the QRS segment showed large variation towards the left free wall, whereas the STT segments were homogeneously directed towards the septal/apical region. The differences in the CineECG location for the QRS, STpeak, and TpeakTend between the age and gender groups were relatively small (maximally 10 mm at end T-wave), although between the gender groups minor differences were found in the 4 chamber direction angles (QRS 4°, STpeak 5°, and TpeakTend 8°) and LAO (QRS 1°, STpeak 13°, and TpeakTend 30°). Conclusion CineECG demonstrated to be a feasible and pragmatic solution for ECG waveform interpretation, relating the ECG directly to the cardiac anatomy. The variations in depolarization and repolarization CineECG were small within this group of normal healthy controls, both in cardiac location as well as in direction. CineECG may enable an easier discrimination between normal and abnormal QRS and T-wave morphologies, reducing the amount of expert training. Further studies are needed to prove whether novel CineECG can significantly contribute to the discrimination of normal versus abnormal ECG tracings
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