157 research outputs found
Extreme quasars at high redshift
Context:Quasars radiating at extreme Eddington ratios (xA) are likely a prime
mover of galactic evolution and have been hailed as potential distance
indicators. Their properties are still scarcely known.
Aims:We test the effectiveness of the selection criteria defined on the 4D
Eigenvector 1 (4DE1) for identifying xA sources. We provide a quantitative
description of their UV spectra in the redshift range 2<z<2.9.
Methods:19 extreme quasar candidates were identified using 4DE1 selection
criteria applied to SDSS spectra: AlIII1860/SiIII]1892>0.5 and
CIII]1909/SiIII]1892<1. The emission line spectra was studied using
multicomponent fits of deep spectroscopic observations obtained with the
OSIRIS-GTC.
Results:Spectra confirm that almost all of these quasars are xA sources with
very similar properties. We provide spectrophotometric and line profile
measurements for the SiIV1397+OIV]1402, CIV1549+HeII1640, and the 1900A blend
composed by AlIII1860, SiIII]1892, FeIII and a weak CIII]1909. The spectra can
be characterized as very low ionization (logU~-3), a condition that explains
the significant FeIII emission. CIV1549 shows low equivalent width (<30 A for
the most sources), and high or extreme blueshift amplitudes (-5000<c(1/2)<-1000
kms-1). Weak-lined quasars appear as extreme xA quasars and not as an
independent class. The CIV1549 high amplitude blueshifts coexists in all cases
save one with symmetric and narrower AlIII and SiIII] profiles. Estimates of
the Eddington ratio using the AlIII FWHM as a virial broadening estimator are
consistent with the ones of a previous xA sample.
Conclusions:It is now feasible to assemble large samples of xA quasars from
the latest data releases of the SDSS. We provide evidence that AlIII1860 could
be associated with a low-ionization virialized sub-system, supporting previous
suggestions that AlIII is a reliable virial broadening estimator.Comment: 36 pages, 31 figures, 12 tables. Manuscript accepted for publication,
A&A. Corrected titl
Evaluation of rare earth doped silica sub-micrometric spheres as optically controlled temperature sensors
We report on the evaluation of rare earth (Er3þ, Eu3þ, and Tb3þ ions) SiO2 sub-micrometric
spheres as potential optically controllable temperature sensors. Details about fabrication, optical
manipulation and spectroscopic characterization of the sub-micrometric spheres are presented.
The fluorescence properties of the micros-spheres in the biological range (25–60 C) have been
systematically investigated. From this systematic study, the thermal resolution potentially
achieved in each case has been determined and compared to previous works
Set-optimization meets variational inequalities
We study necessary and sufficient conditions to attain solutions of
set-optimization problems in therms of variational inequalities of Stampacchia
and Minty type. The notion of a solution we deal with has been introduced Heyde
and Loehne, for convex set-valued objective functions. To define the set-valued
variational inequality, we introduce a set-valued directional derivative and we
relate it to the Dini derivatives of a family of linearly scalarized problems.
The optimality conditions are given by Stampacchia and Minty type Variational
inequalities, defined both by the set valued directional derivative and by the
Dini derivatives of the scalarizations. The main results allow to obtain known
variational characterizations for vector valued optimization problems
Network meta‐analysis of post‐exposure prophylaxis randomized clinical trials
Objectives: We performed a network meta‐analysis of PEP randomized clinical trials to evaluate the best regimen. /
Methods: After MEDLINE/Pubmed search, studies were included if: (1) were randomized, (2) comparing at least 2 PEP three‐drug regimens and, (3) reported completion rates or discontinuation at 28 days. Five studies with 1105 PEP initiations were included and compared ritonavir‐boosted lopinavir (LPV/r) vs. atazanavir (ATV) (one study), cobicistat‐boosted elvitegravir (EVG/c) (one study), raltegravir (RAL) (one study) or maraviroc (MVC) (two studies). We estimated the probability of each treatment of being the best based on the evaluation of five outcomes: PEP non‐completion at day 28, PEP discontinuation due to adverse events, PEP switching due to any cause, lost to follow‐up and adverse events. /
Results: Participants were mostly men who have sex with men (n = 832, 75%) with non‐occupational exposure to HIV (89.86%). Four‐hundred fifty‐four (41%) participants failed to complete their PEP course for any reason. The Odds Ratio (OR) for PEP non‐completion at day 28 in each antiretroviral compared to LPV/r was: ATV 0.95 (95% CI 0.58–1.56; EVG/c: OR 0.65 95% CI 0.30–1.37; RAL: OR 0.68 95% CI 0.41–1.13; and MVC: OR 0.69 95% CI 0.47–1.01. In addition, the rankogram showed that EVG/c had the highest probability of being the best treatment for the lowest rates in PEP non‐completion at day 28, switching, lost to follow‐up or adverse events and MVC for PEP discontinuations due to adverse events. /
Conclusions: Our study shows the advantages of integrase inhibitors when used as PEP, particularly EVG as a Single‐Tablet Regimen
The Antares Collaboration : Contributions to the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2015, The Hague)
The ANTARES detector, completed in 2008, is the largest neutrino telescope in the Northern hemisphere. Located at a depth of 2.5 km in the Mediterranean Sea, 40 km off the Toulon shore, its main goal is the search for astrophysical high energy neutrinos. In this paper we collect the 21 contributions of the ANTARES collaboration to the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2015). The scientific output is very rich and the contributions included in these proceedings cover the main physics results, ranging from steady point sources, diffuse searches, multi-messenger analyses to exotic physics
A Hybrid of Metabolic Flux Analysis and Bayesian Factor Modeling for Multiomic Temporal Pathway Activation.
The
growing availability of multiomic data provides a highly comprehensive
view of cellular processes at the levels of mRNA, proteins, metabolites,
and reaction fluxes. However, due to probabilistic interactions between
components depending on the environment and on the time course, casual,
sometimes rare interactions may cause important effects in the cellular
physiology. To date, interactions at the pathway level cannot be measured
directly, and methodologies to predict pathway cross-correlations
from reaction fluxes are still missing. Here, we develop a multiomic
approach of flux-balance analysis combined with Bayesian factor modeling
with the aim of detecting pathway cross-correlations and predicting
metabolic pathway activation profiles. Starting from gene expression
profiles measured in various environmental conditions, we associate
a flux rate profile with each condition. We then infer pathway cross-correlations
and identify the degrees of pathway activation with respect to the
conditions and time course using Bayesian factor modeling. We test
our framework on the most recent metabolic reconstruction of Escherichia coli in both static and dynamic environments,
thus predicting the functionality of particular groups of reactions
and how it varies over time. In a dynamic environment, our method
can be readily used to characterize the temporal progression of pathway
activation in response to given stimuli
Anisotropy and chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using arrival directions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Collaboration has reported evidence for anisotropy in the
distribution of arrival directions of the cosmic rays with energies
eV. These show a correlation with the distribution
of nearby extragalactic objects, including an apparent excess around the
direction of Centaurus A. If the particles responsible for these excesses at
are heavy nuclei with charge , the proton component of the
sources should lead to excesses in the same regions at energies . We here
report the lack of anisotropies in these directions at energies above
(for illustrative values of ). If the anisotropies
above are due to nuclei with charge , and under reasonable
assumptions about the acceleration process, these observations imply stringent
constraints on the allowed proton fraction at the lower energies
High-Bandpass Filters in Electrocardiography: Source of Error in the Interpretation of the ST Segment
Introduction. Artifactual variations in the ST segment may lead to confusion with acute coronary syndromes. Objective. To evaluate
how the technical characteristics of the recording mode may distort the ST segment. Material and Method. We made a series of
electrocardiograms using different filter configurations in 45 asymptomatic patients. A spectral analysis of the electrocardiograms
was made by discrete Fourier transforms, and an accurate recomposition of the ECG signal was obtained from the addition of
successive harmonics. Digital high-pass filters of 0.05 and 0.5 Hz were used, and the resulting shapes were compared with the
originals. Results. In 42 patients (93%) clinically significant alterations in ST segment level were detected. These changes were only
seen in “real time mode” with high-pass filter of 0.5 Hz. Conclusions. Interpretation of the ST segment in “real time mode” should
only be carried out using high-pass filters of 0.05 Hz.Buendıa Fuentes, F.; Arnau Vives, M.; Arnau Vives, A.; Jiménez Jiménez, Y.; Rueda-Soriano, J.; Zorio-Grima, E..; Osa-Saez, A.... (2012). High-Bandpass Filters in Electrocardiography: Source of Error in the Interpretation of the ST Segment. ISRN Cardiology. 2012:706217-706227. doi:10.5402/2012/706217S706217706227201
Effects of Genotype and Growth Temperature on the Contents of Tannin, Phytate and in vitro Iron Availability of Sorghum Grains
Background: It has been predicted that the global temperature will rise in the future, which means crops including sorghum will likely be grown under higher temperatures, and consequently may affect the nutritional properties. Methods: The effects of two growth temperatures (OT, day/night 32/21°C; HT 38/21°C) on tannin, phytate, mineral, and in vitro iron availability of raw and cooked grains (as porridge) of six sorghum genotypes were investigated. Results: Tannin content significantly decreased across all sorghum genotypes under high growth temperature (P ≤0.05), while the phytate and mineral contents maintained the same level, increased or decreased significantly, depending on the genotype. The in vitro iron availability in most sorghum genotypes was also significantly reduced under high temperature, except for Ai4, which showed a pronounced increase (P ≤0.05). The cooking process significantly reduced tannin content in all sorghum genotypes (P ≤0.05), while the phytate content and in vitro iron availability were not significantly affected. Conclusions: This research provides some new information on sorghum grain nutritional properties when grown under predicted future higher temperatures, which could be important for humans where sorghum grains are consumed as staple food
Advanced functionality for radio analysis in the Offline software framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The advent of the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) necessitates the
development of a powerful framework for the analysis of radio measurements of
cosmic ray air showers. As AERA performs "radio-hybrid" measurements of air
shower radio emission in coincidence with the surface particle detectors and
fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the radio analysis
functionality had to be incorporated in the existing hybrid analysis solutions
for fluoresence and surface detector data. This goal has been achieved in a
natural way by extending the existing Auger Offline software framework with
radio functionality. In this article, we lay out the design, highlights and
features of the radio extension implemented in the Auger Offline framework. Its
functionality has achieved a high degree of sophistication and offers advanced
features such as vectorial reconstruction of the electric field, advanced
signal processing algorithms, a transparent and efficient handling of FFTs, a
very detailed simulation of detector effects, and the read-in of multiple data
formats including data from various radio simulation codes. The source code of
this radio functionality can be made available to interested parties on
request.Comment: accepted for publication in NIM A, 13 pages, minor corrections to
author list and references in v
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