471 research outputs found
Dynamical stability of a thermally stratified intracluster medium with anisotropic momentum and heat transport
In weakly-collisional plasmas such as the intracluster medium (ICM), heat and
momentum transport become anisotropic with respect to the local magnetic field
direction. Anisotropic heat conduction causes the slow magnetosonic wave to
become buoyantly unstable to the magnetothermal instability (MTI) when the
temperature increases in the direction of gravity and to the heat-flux--driven
buoyancy instability (HBI) when the temperature decreases in the direction of
gravity. The local changes in magnetic field strength that attend these
instabilities cause pressure anisotropies that viscously damp motions parallel
to the magnetic field. In this paper we employ a linear stability analysis to
elucidate the effects of anisotropic viscosity (i.e. Braginskii pressure
anisotropy) on the MTI and HBI. By stifling the convergence/divergence of
magnetic field lines, pressure anisotropy significantly affects how the ICM
interacts with the temperature gradient. Instabilities which depend upon the
convergence/divergence of magnetic field lines to generate unstable buoyant
motions (the HBI) are suppressed over much of the wavenumber space, whereas
those which are otherwise impeded by field-line convergence/divergence (the
MTI) are strengthened. As a result, the wavenumbers at which the HBI survives
largely unsuppressed in the ICM have parallel components too small to
rigorously be considered local. This is particularly true as the magnetic field
becomes more and more orthogonal to the temperature gradient. In contrast, the
fastest-growing MTI modes are unaffected by anisotropic viscosity. However, we
find that anisotropic viscosity couples slow and Alfven waves in such a way as
to buoyantly destabilise Alfvenic fluctuations when the temperature increases
in the direction of gravity. Consequently, many wavenumbers previously
considered MTI-stable or slow-growing are in fact maximally unstable.
(abridged)Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted by MNRAS; typos fixed and minor
corrections made; color figures available at
http://www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/people/kunz/Kunz11_colorfigs.pd
The HBI in a quasi-global model of the intracluster medium
In this paper we investigate how convective instabilities influence heat
conduction in the intracluster medium (ICM) of cool-core galaxy clusters. The
ICM is a high-beta, weakly collisional plasma in which the transport of
momentum and heat is aligned with the magnetic field. The anisotropy of heat
conduction, in particular, gives rise to instabilities that can access energy
stored in a temperature gradient of either sign. We focus on the heat-flux
buoyancy-driven instability (HBI), which feeds on the outwardly increasing
temperature profile of cluster cool cores. Our aim is to elucidate how the
global structure of a cluster impacts on the growth and morphology of the
linear HBI modes when in the presence of Braginskii viscosity, and ultimately
on the ability of the HBI to thermally insulate cores. We employ an idealised
quasi-global model, the plane-parallel atmosphere, which captures the essential
physics -- e.g. the global radial profile of the cluster -- while letting the
problem remain analytically tractable. Our main result is that the dominant HBI
modes are localised to the the innermost (~<20%) regions of cool cores. It is
then probable that, in the nonlinear regime, appreciable field-line insulation
will be similarly localised. Thus, while radio-mode feedback appears necessary
in the central few tens of kpc, heat conduction may be capable of offsetting
radiative losses throughout most of a cool core over a significant fraction of
the Hubble time. Finally, our linear solutions provide a convenient numerical
test for the nonlinear codes that tackle the saturation of such convective
instabilities in the presence of anisotropic transport.Comment: MNRAS, in press; minor modifications from v
Deficiency of Th17 cells in hyper IgE syndrome due to mutations in STAT3
Hyper–immunoglobulin E syndrome (HIES) is a primary immune deficiency characterized by abnormal and devastating susceptibility to a narrow spectrum of infections, most commonly Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Recent investigations have identified mutations in STAT3 in the majority of HIES patients studied. Despite the identification of the genetic cause of HIES, the mechanisms underlying the pathological features of this disease remain to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrate a failure of CD4+ T cells harboring heterozygous STAT3 mutations to generate interleukin 17–secreting (i.e., T helper [Th]17) cells in vivo and in vitro due to a failure to express sufficient levels of the Th17-specific transcriptional regulator retinoid-related orphan receptor γt. Because Th17 cells are enriched for cells with specificities against fungal antigens, our results may explain the pattern of infection susceptibility characteristic of patients with HIES. Furthermore, they underscore the importance of Th17 responses in normal host defense against the common pathogens S. aureus and C. albicans
Corticosteroids increase the risk of invasive fungal infections more than tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors in patients with inflammatory bowel disease
BACKGROUND: Invasive fungal infections are a devastating complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment. We aimed to determine the incidence of fungal infections in IBD patients and examine the risk with tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors (anti-TNF) compared with corticosteroids.
METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study using the IBM MarketScan Commercial Database we identified US patients with IBD and at least 6 months enrollment from 2006 to 2018. The primary outcome was a composite of invasive fungal infections, identified by ICD-9/10-CM codes plus antifungal treatment. Tuberculosis (TB) infections were a secondary outcome, with infections presented as cases/100 000 person-years (PY). A proportional hazards model was used to determine the association of IBD medications (as time-dependent variables) and invasive fungal infections, controlling for comorbidities and IBD severity.
RESULTS: Among 652 920 patients with IBD, the rate of invasive fungal infections was 47.9 cases per 100 000 PY (95% CI 44.7-51.4), which was more than double the TB rate (22 cases [CI 20-24], per 100 000 PY). Histoplasmosis was the most common invasive fungal infection (12.0 cases [CI 10.4-13.8] per 100 000 PY). After controlling for comorbidities and IBD severity, corticosteroids (hazard ratio [HR] 5.4; CI 4.6-6.2) and anti-TNFs (HR 1.6; CI 1.3-2.1) were associated with invasive fungal infections.
CONCLUSIONS: Invasive fungal infections are more common than TB in patients with IBD. The risk of invasive fungal infections with corticosteroids is more than double that of anti-TNFs. Minimizing corticosteroid use in IBD patients may decrease the risk of fungal infections
Precambrian olistoliths masquerading as sills from Death Valley, California
Olistolith production and magmatism are processes commonly associated with extensional tectonic settings, such as rift basins. We present a cautionary exemplar from one such Precambrian basin, in which we reinterpret metabasite bodies, previously documented as sills, to be olistoliths. We nevertheless demonstrate that, on the basis of field observation alone, the previous but erroneous sill interpretation is parsimonious. Indeed, it is only by using isotopic age and compositional analysis that the true identities of these metabasite olistoliths are revealed. We present new data from metabasites and metasedimentary strata of the Kingston Peak Formation (Cryogenian) and Crystal Spring Formation (Mesoproterozoic) of Death Valley, USA. These include field observations, U?Pb apatite ages, U?Pb zircon ages (detrital and igneous) and whole-rock geochemistry. These data also provide a new maximum age for the base of the Pahrump Group and suggest that the Crystal Spring Diabase was more tholeiitic than previously thought. Similar sill/olistolith misinterpretations may have occurred elsewhere, potentially producing erroneous age and tectonic-setting interpretations of surrounding strata. This is particularly relevant in Precambrian rocks, where fossil age constraints are rare. This is illustrated herein using a potential example from the Neoproterozoic literature of the Lufilian belt, Africa. We caution others against Precambrian olistoliths masquerading as sills.publishersversionPeer reviewe
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