619 research outputs found
The Astro-WISE approach to quality control for astronomical data
We present a novel approach to quality control during the processing of
astronomical data. Quality control in the Astro-WISE Information System is
integral to all aspects of data handing and provides transparent access to
quality estimators for all stages of data reduction from the raw image to the
final catalog. The implementation of quality control mechanisms relies on the
core features in this Astro-WISE Environment (AWE): an object-oriented
framework, full data lineage, and both forward and backward chaining. Quality
control information can be accessed via the command-line awe-prompt and the
web-based Quality-WISE service. The quality control system is described and
qualified using archive data from the 8-CCD Wide Field Imager (WFI) instrument
(http://www.eso.org/lasilla/instruments/wfi/) on the 2.2-m MPG/ESO telescope at
La Silla and (pre-)survey data from the 32-CCD OmegaCAM instrument
(http://www.astro-wise.org/~omegacam/) on the VST telescope at Paranal.Comment: Accepted for publication in topical issue of Experimental Astronomy
on Astro-WISE information syste
The HIFI spectral survey of AFGL 2591 (CHESS). II. Summary of the survey
This paper presents the richness of submillimeter spectral features in the
high-mass star forming region AFGL 2591. As part of the CHESS (Chemical
Herschel Survey of Star Forming Regions) Key Programme, AFGL 2591 was observed
by the Herschel/HIFI instrument. The spectral survey covered a frequency range
from 480 up to 1240 GHz as well as single lines from 1267 to 1901 GHz (i.e. CO,
HCl, NH3, OH and [CII]). Rotational and population diagram methods were used to
calculate column densities, excitation temperatures and the emission extents of
the observed molecules associated with AFGL 2591. The analysis was supplemented
with several lines from ground-based JCMT spectra. From the HIFI spectral
survey analysis a total of 32 species were identified (including
isotopologues). In spite of the fact that lines are mostly quite week, 268
emission and 16 absorption lines were found (excluding blends). Molecular
column densities range from 6e11 to 1e19 cm-2 and excitation temperatures range
from 19 to 175 K. One can distinguish cold (e.g. HCN, H2S, NH3 with
temperatures below 70 K) and warm species (e.g. CH3OH, SO2) in the protostellar
envelope.Comment: Accepted to A&
Herschel and the Molecular Universe
Over the next decade, space-based missions will open up the universe to high spatial and spectral resolution studies at infrared and submillimeter wavelengths. This will allow us to study, in much greater detail, the composition and the origin and evolution of molecules in space. Moreover, molecular transitions in these spectral ranges provide a sensitive probe of the dynamics and the physical and chemical conditions in a wide range of objects at scales ranging from budding planetary systems to galactic and extragalactic sizes. Hence, these missions provide us with the tools to study key astrophysical and astrochemical processes involved in the formation and evolution of planets, stars, and galaxies. These new missions can be expected to lead to the detection of many thousands of new spectral features. Identification, analysis and interpretation of these features in terms of the physical and chemical characteristics of the astronomical sources will require detailed astronomical modeling tools supported by laboratory measurements and theoretical studies of chemical reactions and collisional excitation rates on species of astrophysical relevance. These data will have to be made easily accessible to the scientific community through web-based data archives. In this paper, we will review the Herschel mission and its expected impact on our understanding of the molecular universe
Tremor pathophysiology:lessons from neuroimaging
Contains fulltext :
226036.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access)PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We discuss the latest neuroimaging studies investigating the pathophysiology of Parkinson's tremor, essential tremor, dystonic tremor and Holmes tremor. RECENT FINDINGS: Parkinson's tremor is associated with increased activity in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit, with interindividual differences depending on the clinical dopamine response of the tremor. Although dopamine-resistant Parkinson's tremor arises from a larger contribution of the (dopamine-insensitive) cerebellum, dopamine-responsive tremor may be explained by thalamic dopamine depletion. In essential tremor, deep brain stimulation normalizes cerebellar overactivity, which fits with the cerebellar oscillator hypothesis. On the other hand, disconnection of the dentate nucleus and abnormal white matter microstructural integrity support a decoupling of the cerebellum in essential tremor. In dystonic tremor, there is evidence for involvement of both cerebellum and basal ganglia, although this may depend on the clinical phenotype. Finally, in Holmes tremor, different causal lesions map to a common network consisting of the red nucleus, internal globus pallidus, thalamus, cerebellum and pontomedullary junction. SUMMARY: The pathophysiology of all investigated tremors involves the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway, and clinical and pathophysiological features overlap among tremor disorders. We draw the outlines of a hypothetical pathophysiological axis, which may be used besides clinical features and cause in future tremor classifications
Hot gas and dust in a protostellar cluster near W3(OH
We used the IRAM Interferometer to obtain sub-arcsecond resolution
observations of the high-mass star-forming region W3(OH) and its surroundings
at a frequency of 220 GHz. With the improved angular resolution, we distinguish
3 peaks in the thermal dust continuum emission originating from the hot core
region about 6 arcsec (0.06 pc) east of W3(OH). The dust emission peaks are
coincident with known radio continuum sources, one of which is of non-thermal
nature. The latter source is also at the center of expansion of a powerful
bipolar outflow observed in water maser emission. We determine the hot core
mass to be 15 solar masses based on the integrated dust continuum emission.
Simultaneously many molecular lines are detected allowing the analysis of the
temperature structure and the distribution of complex organic molecules in the
hot core. From HNCO lines, spanning a wide range of excitation, two 200 K
temperature peaks are found coincident with dust continuum emission peaks
suggesting embedded heating sources within them.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Transitions in Depression (TRANS-ID) Recovery: Study protocol for a repeated intensive longitudinal n = 1 study design to search for personalized early warning signals of critical transitions towards improvement in depression
Aim. The Transitions in Depression (TRANS-ID) Recovery study has gathered intensive longitudinal data in a group of individuals with depression during psychological therapy.The study was designed to gather high-resolution time series to monitor individual change processes in great detail, to allow for personalized predictions of shifts in depressive symptoms.Method. The data collection combined experience sampling methods to assess momentary affect and behavior (five 27-item questionnaires a day, for four months), ambulatory assessment of physical activity and heart rate (continuous, for four months), and depression symptom assessments (weekly for six months, and monthly for the six months thereafter, twelve months total). In addition to a baseline diagnostic interview, baseline questionnaires covered a range of constructs, including overall psychopathology symptoms, medication use, psychological treatment history, alexithymia, life events, quality of life, and chronotype. After the four-month ambulatory assessment period, a personal report of the experience sampling data was given to each participant, and a semi-structured qualitative interview was conducted to evaluate participants’ own retrospective experience of symptom changes during the research period. Conclusion. The TRANS-ID Recovery study procedures and materials are described in detail in this document. The study protocol was approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of the University Medical Center Groningen (reg. number: NL58848.04.16)
FIRI - a Far-Infrared Interferometer
Half of the energy ever emitted by stars and accreting objects comes to us in
the FIR waveband and has yet to be properly explored. We propose a powerful
Far-InfraRed Interferometer mission, FIRI, to carry out high-resolution imaging
spectroscopy in the FIR. This key observational capability is essential to
reveal how gas and dust evolve into stars and planets, how the first luminous
objects in the Universe ignited, how galaxies formed, and when super-massive
black holes grew. FIRI will disentangle the cosmic histories of star formation
and accretion onto black holes and will trace the assembly and evolution of
quiescent galaxies like our Milky Way. Perhaps most importantly, FIRI will
observe all stages of planetary system formation and recognise Earth-like
planets that may harbour life, via its ability to image the dust structures in
planetary systems. It will thus address directly questions fundamental to our
understanding of how the Universe has developed and evolved - the very
questions posed by ESA's Cosmic Vision.Comment: Proposal developed by a large team of astronomers from Europe, USA
and Canada and submitted to the European Space Agency as part of "Cosmic
Vision 2015-2025
ISO observations of far-infrared rotational emission lines of water vapor toward the supergiant star VY Canis Majoris
We report the detection of numerous far-infrared emission lines of water
vapor toward the supergiant star VY Canis Majoris. A 29.5 - 45 micron grating
scan of VY CMa, obtained using the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) of the
Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) at a spectral resolving power of approximately
2000, reveals at least 41 spectral features due to water vapor that together
radiate a total luminosity ~ 25 solar luminosities. In addition to pure
rotational transitions within the ground vibrational state, these features
include rotational transitions within the (010) excited vibrational state. The
spectrum also shows the doublet Pi 1/2 (J=5/2) <-- doublet Pi 3/2 (J=3/2) OH
feature near 34.6 micron in absorption. Additional SWS observations of VY CMa
were carried out in the instrument's Fabry-Perot mode for three water
transitions: the 7(25)-6(16) line at 29.8367 micron, the 4(41)-3(12) line
31.7721 micron, and the 4(32)-3(03) line at 40.6909 micron. The higher spectral
resolving power of approximately 30,000 thereby obtained permits the line
profiles to be resolved spectrally for the first time and reveals the "P Cygni"
profiles that are characteristic of emission from an outflowing envelope.Comment: 11 pages (inc. 2 figures), LaTeX, uses aaspp4.sty, accepted for
publication in ApJ Letter
Submillimeter Emission from Water in the W3 Region
We have mapped the submillimeter emission from the 1(10)-1(01) transition of
ortho-water in the W3 star-forming region. A 5'x5' map of the W3 IRS4 and W3
IRS5 region reveals strong water lines at half the positions in the map. The
relative strength of the Odin lines compared to previous observations by SWAS
suggests that we are seeing water emission from an extended region. Across much
of the map the lines are double-peaked, with an absorption feature at -39 km/s;
however, some positions in the map show a single strong line at -43 km/s. We
interpret the double-peaked lines as arising from optically thick,
self-absorbed water emission near the W3 IRS5, while the narrower blue-shifted
lines originate in emission near W3 IRS4. In this model, the unusual appearance
of the spectral lines across the map results from a coincidental agreement in
velocity between the emission near W3 IRS4 and the blue peak of the more
complex lines near W3 IRS5. The strength of the water lines near W3 IRS4
suggests we may be seeing water emission enhanced in a photon-dominated region.Comment: Accepted to A&A Letters as part of the special Odin issue; 4 page
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