102 research outputs found
Interferometric Observations of Explosive Variables: V838 Mon, Nova Aql 2005, and RS Oph
During the last two years we have used the Palomar Testbed Interferometer to
observe several explosive variable stars, including V838 Monocerotis, V1663
Aquilae and recently RS Ophiuchi. We observed V838 Monocerotis approximately 34
months after its eruption, and were able to resolve the ejecta. Observations of
V1663 Aql were obtained starting 9 days after peak brightness and continued for
10 days. We were able to resolve the milliarcsecond-scale emission and follow
the expansion of the nova photosphere. When combined with radial-velocity
information, these observations can be used to infer the distance to the nova.
Finally we have resolved the recurrent nova RS Oph and can draw some
preliminary conclusions regarding the emission morphology.Comment: 8 Pages, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 2006,
Advances in Stellar Interferometery, 6268-16
Exploring the conditions required to form giant planets via gravitational instability in massive protoplanetary discs
We carry out global three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamical simulations of
self-gravitating accretion discs to determine if, and under what conditions, a
disc may fragment to form giant planets. We explore the parameter space (in
terms of the disc opacity, temperature and size) and include the effect of
stellar irradiation. We find that the disc opacity plays a vital role in
determining whether a disc fragments. Specifically, opacities that are smaller
than interstellar Rosseland mean values promote fragmentation (even at small
radii, R < 25AU) since low opacities allow a disc to cool quickly. This may
occur if a disc has a low metallicity or if grain growth has occurred. With
specific reference to the HR 8799 planetary system, given its star is
metal-poor, our results suggest that the formation of its imaged planetary
system could potentially have occurred by gravitational instability. We also
find that the presence of stellar irradiation generally acts to inhibit
fragmentation (since the discs can only cool to the temperature defined by
stellar irradiation). However, fragmentation may occur if the irradiation is
sufficiently weak that it allows the disc to attain a low Toomre stability
parameter.Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRAS. 11 pages, 12 figures
A corpus for large-scale phonetic typology
A major hurdle in data-driven research on typology is having sufficient data
in many languages to draw meaningful conclusions. We present VoxClamantis v1.0,
the first large-scale corpus for phonetic typology, with aligned segments and
estimated phoneme-level labels in 690 readings spanning 635 languages, along
with acoustic-phonetic measures of vowels and sibilants. Access to such data
can greatly facilitate investigation of phonetic typology at a large scale and
across many languages. However, it is non-trivial and computationally intensive
to obtain such alignments for hundreds of languages, many of which have few to
no resources presently available. We describe the methodology to create our
corpus, discuss caveats with current methods and their impact on the utility of
this data, and illustrate possible research directions through a series of case
studies on the 48 highest-quality readings. Our corpus and scripts are publicly
available for non-commercial use at https://voxclamantisproject.github.io.Comment: Accepted to ACL202
The Gray Needle: Large Grains in the HD 15115 Debris Disk from LBT/PISCES/Ks and LBTI/LMIRcam/L' Adaptive Optics Imaging
We present diffraction-limited \ks band and \lprime adaptive optics images of
the edge-on debris disk around the nearby F2 star HD 15115, obtained with a
single 8.4 m primary mirror at the Large Binocular Telescope. At \ks band the
disk is detected at signal-to-noise per resolution element (SNRE) \about 3-8
from \about 1-2\fasec 5 (45-113 AU) on the western side, and from \about
1.2-2\fasec 1 (63-90 AU) on the east. At \lprime the disk is detected at SNRE
\about 2.5 from \about 1-1\fasec 45 (45-90 AU) on both sides, implying more
symmetric disk structure at 3.8 \microns . At both wavelengths the disk has a
bow-like shape and is offset from the star to the north by a few AU. A surface
brightness asymmetry exists between the two sides of the disk at \ks band, but
not at \lprime . The surface brightness at \ks band declines inside 1\asec
(\about 45 AU), which may be indicative of a gap in the disk near 1\asec. The
\ks - \lprime disk color, after removal of the stellar color, is mostly grey
for both sides of the disk. This suggests that scattered light is coming from
large dust grains, with 3-10 \microns -sized grains on the east side and 1-10
\microns dust grains on the west. This may suggest that the west side is
composed of smaller dust grains than the east side, which would support the
interpretation that the disk is being dynamically affected by interactions with
the local interstellar medium.Comment: Apj-accepted March 27 2012; minor correction
First Light LBT AO Images of HR 8799 bcde at 1.65 and 3.3 Microns: New Discrepancies between Young Planets and Old Brown Dwarfs
As the only directly imaged multiple planet system, HR 8799 provides a unique
opportunity to study the physical properties of several planets in parallel. In
this paper, we image all four of the HR 8799 planets at H-band and 3.3 microns
with the new LBT adaptive optics system, PISCES, and LBTI/LMIRCam. Our images
offer an unprecedented view of the system, allowing us to obtain H and 3.3$
micron photometry of the innermost planet (for the first time) and put strong
upper-limits on the presence of a hypothetical fifth companion. We find that
all four planets are unexpectedly bright at 3.3 microns compared to the
equilibrium chemistry models used for field brown dwarfs, which predict that
planets should be faint at 3.3 microns due to CH4 opacity. We attempt to model
the planets with thick-cloudy, non-equilibrium chemistry atmospheres, but find
that removing CH4 to fit the 3.3 micron photometry increases the predicted L'
(3.8 microns) flux enough that it is inconsistent with observations. In an
effort to fit the SED of the HR 8799 planets, we construct mixtures of cloudy
atmospheres, which are intended to represent planets covered by clouds of
varying opacity. In this scenario, regions with low opacity look hot and
bright, while regions with high opacity look faint, similar to the patchy cloud
structures on Jupiter and L/T transition brown-dwarfs. Our mixed cloud models
reproduce all of the available data, but self-consistent models are still
necessary to demonstrate their viability.Comment: Accepted to Ap
Guided portfolio writing as a scaffold for reflective learning in in-service contexts: A case study
Language is widely recognized as an inescapable mediating tool for professional learning, and with this text we want to contribute to a better understanding of the particular role that guided writing can play in in-service professional reflective learning. We analysed one pre-school teacher’s written portfolio, the construction of which was guided to scaffold deep thinking about (and the transference of theory into) practice during participation in an in-service program about language education. Our case study shows that the writing process sustained robust learning about professional knowing, doing and learning itself: The teacher elaborated an integrative ethical understanding of the discussed theory, fully experienced newly informed practices and assessed her own learning by using theory to confront her previous knowledge and practices. Throughout the portfolio, the learning stance revealed by her voice varied accordingly. The study illustrates the potential of guided writing to scaffold reflective learning in in-service contexts.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal. PEst-OE/CED/UI1661/2011] through CIEd (Centro de Estudos em Educação). PEst-OE/CED/UI0317/2014] through CIEC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Large-scale genome-wide association studies and meta-analyses of longitudinal change in adult lung function.
BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous loci influencing cross-sectional lung function, but less is known about genes influencing longitudinal change in lung function.
METHODS: We performed GWAS of the rate of change in forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) in 14 longitudinal, population-based cohort studies comprising 27,249 adults of European ancestry using linear mixed effects model and combined cohort-specific results using fixed effect meta-analysis to identify novel genetic loci associated with longitudinal change in lung function. Gene expression analyses were subsequently performed for identified genetic loci. As a secondary aim, we estimated the mean rate of decline in FEV1 by smoking pattern, irrespective of genotypes, across these 14 studies using meta-analysis.
RESULTS: The overall meta-analysis produced suggestive evidence for association at the novel IL16/STARD5/TMC3 locus on chromosome 15 (P = 5.71 × 10(-7)). In addition, meta-analysis using the five cohorts with ≥3 FEV1 measurements per participant identified the novel ME3 locus on chromosome 11 (P = 2.18 × 10(-8)) at genome-wide significance. Neither locus was associated with FEV1 decline in two additional cohort studies. We confirmed gene expression of IL16, STARD5, and ME3 in multiple lung tissues. Publicly available microarray data confirmed differential expression of all three genes in lung samples from COPD patients compared with controls. Irrespective of genotypes, the combined estimate for FEV1 decline was 26.9, 29.2 and 35.7 mL/year in never, former, and persistent smokers, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: In this large-scale GWAS, we identified two novel genetic loci in association with the rate of change in FEV1 that harbor candidate genes with biologically plausible functional links to lung function
Optimization of MicroCT Imaging and Blood Vessel Diameter Quantitation of Preclinical Specimen Vasculature with Radiopaque Polymer Injection Medium
Vascular networks within a living organism are complex, multi-dimensional, and challenging to image capture. Radio-angiographic studies in live animals require a high level of infrastructure and technical investment in order to administer costly perfusion mediums whose signals metabolize and degrade relatively rapidly, diminishing within a few hours or days. Additionally, live animal specimens must not be subject to long duration scans, which can cause high levels of radiation exposure to the specimen, limiting the quality of images that can be captured. Lastly, despite technological advances in live-animal specimen imaging, it is quite difficult to minimize or prevent movement of a live animal, which can cause motion artifacts in the final data output. It is demonstrated here that through the use of postmortem perfusion protocols of radiopaque silicone polymer mediums and ex-vivo organ harvest, it is possible to acquire a high level of vascular signal in preclinical specimens through the use of micro-computed tomographic (microCT) imaging. Additionally, utilizing high-order rendering algorithms, it is possible to further derive vessel morphometrics for qualitative and quantitative analysis
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