21 research outputs found
Early Galactic Evolution of Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen
We present results on carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen abundances for a sample of
unevolved metal-poor stars with metallicities in the range -0.3< [Fe/H]< -3.
Oxygen abundances derived from different indicators are compared showing
consistently that in the range 0.3 >[Fe/H]>-3.0, the [O/Fe] ratio increases
from approximately 0 to 1. We find a good agreement between abundances based on
the forbidden line, the OH and IR triplet lines when gravities based on
Hipparcos} parallaxes are considered for the sample stars. Gravities derived
from LTE ionization balance in metal-poor stars with [Fe/H]< -1 are likely too
low, and could be responsible for an underestimation of the oxygen abundances
derived using the [OI] line. [C/Fe] and [N/Fe] ratios appear to be constant,
independently of metallicity, in the same range. However, they show larger
scatter than oxygen at a given metallicity, which could reflect the larger
variety of stellar production sites for these other elements.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, To appear in the proceedings of the conference
"The Chemical Evolution of The Milky Way: Stars versus Clusters", eds. F.
Matteucci and F. Giovannelli, Vulcano, Italy, September 20-24 199
Exploring the Universe with Metal-Poor Stars
The early chemical evolution of the Galaxy and the Universe is vital to our
understanding of a host of astrophysical phenomena. Since the most metal-poor
Galactic stars (with metallicities down to [Fe/H]\sim-5.5) are relics from the
high-redshift Universe, they probe the chemical and dynamical conditions of the
Milky Way and the origin and evolution of the elements through nucleosynthesis.
They also provide constraints on the nature of the first stars, their
associated supernovae and initial mass function, and early star and galaxy
formation. The Milky Way's dwarf satellites contain a large fraction (~30%) of
the known most metal-poor stars that have chemical abundances that closely
resemble those of equivalent halo stars. This suggests that chemical evolution
may be universal, at least at early times, and that it is driven by massive,
energetic SNe. Some of these surviving, ultra-faint systems may show the
signature of just one such PopIII star; they may even be surviving first
galaxies. Early analogs of the surviving dwarfs may thus have played an
important role in the assembly of the old Galactic halo whose formation can now
be studied with stellar chemistry. Following the cosmic evolution of small
halos in simulations of structure formation enables tracing the cosmological
origin of the most metal-poor stars in the halo and dwarf galaxies. Together
with future observations and additional modeling, many of these issues,
including the reionization history of the Milky Way, may be constrained this
way. The chapter concludes with an outlook about upcoming observational
challenges and ways forward is to use metal-poor stars to constrain theoretical
studies.Comment: 34 pages, 11 figures. Book chapter to appear in "The First Galaxies -
Theoretical Predictions and Observational Clues", 2012 by Springer, eds. V.
Bromm, B. Mobasher, T. Wiklin
Pyoderma gangrenosum – a review
Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare noninfectious neutrophilic dermatosis. Clinically it starts with sterile pustules that rapidly progress and turn into painful ulcers of variable depth and size with undermined violaceous borders. The legs are most commonly affected but other parts of the skin and mucous membranes may also be involved. Course can be mild or malignant, chronic or relapsing with remarkable morbidity. In many cases PG is associated with an underlying disease, most commonly inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatic or haematological disease and malignancy. Diagnosis of PG is based on history of an underlying disease, typical clinical presentation, histopathology, and exclusion of other diseases that would lead to a similar appearance. The peak of incidence occurs between the ages of 20 to 50 years with women being more often affected than men. Aetiology has not been clearly determined yet. The treatment of PG is a challenge. Randomized, double-blinded prospective multicenter trials for PG are not available. The best documented treatments are systemic corticosteroids and ciclosporin A. Combinations of steroids with cytotoxic drugs are used in resistant cases. The combination of steroids with sulfa drugs or immunosuppressants has been used as steroid-sparing modalities. Anti-tumor necrosis alpha therapy in Crohn's disease showed a rapid response of PG. Skin transplants and the application of bioengineered skin is useful in selected cases as a complement to the immunosuppressive treatment. Topical therapy with modern wound dressings is useful to minimize pain and the risk of secondary infections. Despite recent advances in therapy, the prognosis of PG remains unpredictable
Metal-Poor Stars and the Chemical Enrichment of the Universe
Metal-poor stars hold the key to our understanding of the origin of the
elements and the chemical evolution of the Universe. This chapter describes the
process of discovery of these rare stars, the manner in which their surface
abundances (produced in supernovae and other evolved stars) are determined from
the analysis of their spectra, and the interpretation of their abundance
patterns to elucidate questions of origin and evolution. More generally,
studies of these stars contribute to other fundamental areas that include
nuclear astrophysics, conditions at the earliest times, the nature of the first
stars, and the formation and evolution of galaxies -- including our own Milky
Way. We illustrate this with results from studies of lithium formed during the
Big Bang; of stars dated to within ~1 Gyr of that event; of the most metal-poor
stars, with abundance signatures very different from all other stars; and of
the build-up of the elements over the first several Gyr. The combination of
abundance and kinematic signatures constrains how the Milky Way formed, while
recent discoveries of extremely metal-poor stars in the Milky Way's dwarf
galaxy satellites constrain the hierarchical build-up of its stellar halo from
small dark-matter dominated systems. [abridged]Comment: Book chapter, emulated version, 34 pages; number of references are
limited by publisher; to appear in Vol. 5 of textbook "Planets, Stars and
Stellar Systems", by Springer, in 201
The cerebellum and language: the story so far.
The cerebellum was traditionally considered to be exclusively involved in the coordination of voluntary movement, gait, posture, balance and motor speech. However, this view was challenged by recent neuroanatomical, neuroimaging and clinical findings, providing preliminary evidence of a cerebellar contribution to linguistic functioning.Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tReviewSCOPUS: cp.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe