11,684 research outputs found
L-configuration re-attachment of distal biceps tendon rupture
In distal biceps tendon ruptures, re-attachment to the radial tuberosity should ensure adequate tendon to bone contact for optimal healing
Unveiling the nature of the unidentified gamma-ray sources III: gamma-ray blazar-like counterparts at low radio frequencies
About one third of the gamma-ray sources listed in the second Fermi LAT
catalog (2FGL) have no firmly established counterpart at lower energies so
being classified as unidentified gamma-ray sources (UGSs). Here we propose a
new approach to find candidate counterparts for the UGSs based on the 325 MHz
radio survey performed with Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) in the
northern hemisphere. First we investigate the low-frequency radio properties of
blazars, the largest known population of gamma-ray sources; then we search for
sources with similar radio properties combining the information derived from
the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey (WENSS) with those of the NRAO VLA Sky
survey (NVSS). We present a list of candidate counterparts for 32 UGSs with at
least one counterpart in the WENSS. We also performed an extensive research in
literature to look for infrared and optical counterparts of the gamma-ray
blazar candidates selected with the low-frequency radio observations to confirm
their nature. On the basis of our multifrequency research we identify 23 new
gamma-ray blazar candidates out of 32 UGSs investigated. Comparison with
previous results on the UGSs are also presented. Finally, we speculate on the
advantages on the use of the low-frequency radio observations to associate UGSs
and to search for gamma-ray pulsar candidates.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, ApJS accepted for publication
(version pre-proof corrections
Tumour necrosis factor alpha, interferon gamma and substance P are novel modulators of extrapituitary prolactin expression in human skin.
Human scalp skin and hair follicles (HFs) are extra-pituitary sources of prolactin (PRL). However, the intracutaneous regulation of PRL remains poorly understood. Therefore we investigated whether well-recognized regulators of pituitary PRL expression, which also impact on human skin physiology and pathology, regulate expression of PRL and its receptor (PRLR) in situ. This was studied in serum-free organ cultures of microdissected human scalp HFs and skin, i.e. excluding pituitary, neural and vascular inputs. Prolactin expression was confirmed at the gene and protein level in human truncal skin, where its expression significantly increased (p = 0.049) during organ culture. There was, however, no evidence of PRL secretion into the culture medium as measured by ELISA. PRL immunoreactivity (IR) in female human epidermis was decreased by substance P (p = 0.009), while neither the classical pituitary PRL inhibitor, dopamine, nor corticotropin-releasing hormone significantly modulated PRL IR in HFs or skin respectively. Interferon (IFN) gamma increased PRL IR in the epithelium of human HFs (p = 0.044) while tumour necrosis factor (TNF) alpha decreased both PRL and PRLR IR. This study identifies substance P, TNFalpha and IFNgamma as novel modulators of PRL and PRLR expression in human skin, and suggests that intracutaneous PRL expression is not under dopaminergic control. Given the importance of PRL in human hair growth regulation and its possible role in the pathogenesis of several common skin diseases, targeting intracutaneous PRL production via these newly identified regulatory pathways may point towards novel therapeutic options for inflammatory dermatoses
The low-frequency radio catalog of flat spectrum sources
A well known property of the gamma-ray sources detected by COS-B in the
1970s, by the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory in the 1990s and recently by the
Fermi observations is the presence of radio counterparts, in particular for
those associated to extragalactic objects. This observational evidence is the
basis of the radio-gamma-ray connection established for the class of active
galactic nuclei known as blazars. In particular, the main spectral property of
the radio counterparts associated with gamma-ray blazars is that they show a
flat spectrum in the GHz frequency range. Our recent analysis dedicated to
search blazar-like candidates as potential counterparts for the unidentified
gamma-ray sources (UGSs) allowed us to extend the radio-gamma-ray connection in
the MHz regime. We also showed that below 1 GHz blazars maintain flat radio
spectra. Thus on the basis of these new results, we assembled a low-frequency
radio catalog of flat spectrum sources built by combining the radio
observations of the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey (WENSS) and of the
Westerbork in the southern hemisphere (WISH) catalog with those of the NRAO
Very Large Array Sky survey (NVSS). This could be used in the future to search
for new, unknown blazar-like counterparts of the gamma-ray sources. First we
found NVSS counterparts of WSRT radio sources and then we selected flat
spectrum radio sources according to a new spectral criterion specifically
defined for radio observations performed below 1 GHz. We also described the
main properties of the catalog listing 28358 radio sources and their logN-logS
distributions. Finally a comparison with with the Green Bank 6-cm radio source
catalog has been performed to investigate the spectral shape of the
low-frequency flat spectrum radio sources at higher frequencies.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, ApJS published in 2014 (pre-proof
version uploaded
Optical spectroscopic observations of blazars and gamma-ray blazar candidates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Nine
We present an analysis of the optical spectra available in the Sloan Digital
Sky survey data release nine (SDSS DR9) for the blazars listed in the
ROMA-BZCAT and for the gamma-ray blazar candidates selected according to their
IR colors. First, we adopt a statistical approach based on MonteCarlo
simulations to find the optical counterparts of the blazarslisted in the
ROMA-BZCAT catalog. Then we crossmatched the SDSS spectroscopic catalog with
our selected samples of blazars and gamma-ray blazar candidates searching for
those with optical spectra available to classify our blazar-like sources and,
whenever possible, to confirm their redshifts. Our main objectives are
determining the classification of uncertain blazars listed in the ROMA-BZCAT
and discovering new gamma-ray blazars. For the ROMA-BZCAT sources we
investigated a sample of 84 blazars confirming the classification for 20 of
them and obtaining 18 new redshift estimates. For the gamma-ray blazars,
indicated as potential counterparts of unassociated Fermi sources or with
uncertain nature, we established the blazar-like nature of 8 out the 27 sources
analyzed and confirmed 14 classifications.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables, AJ published in 2014 (pre-proof
version
Development of a SiPM Camera for a Schwarzschild-Couder Cherenkov Telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array
We present the development of a novel 11328 pixel silicon photomultiplier
(SiPM) camera for use with a ground-based Cherenkov telescope with
Schwarzschild-Couder optics as a possible medium-sized telescope for the
Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The finely pixelated camera samples air-shower
images with more than twice the optical resolution of cameras that are used in
current Cherenkov telescopes. Advantages of the higher resolution will be a
better event reconstruction yielding improved background suppression and
angular resolution of the reconstructed gamma-ray events, which is crucial in
morphology studies of, for example, Galactic particle accelerators and the
search for gamma-ray halos around extragalactic sources. Packing such a large
number of pixels into an area of only half a square meter and having a fast
readout directly attached to the back of the sensors is a challenging task. For
the prototype camera development, SiPMs from Hamamatsu with through silicon via
(TSV) technology are used. We give a status report of the camera design and
highlight a number of technological advancements that made this development
possible.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic
Ray Conference (ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions
at arXiv:1508.0589
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