Membraneless seawater desalination

Disclosed are microfluidic devices and systems for the desalination of water. The devices and systems can include an electrode configured to generate an electric field gradient in proximity to an intersection formed by the divergence of two microfluidic channels from an inlet channel. Under an applied bias and in the presence of a pressure driven flow of saltwater, the electric field gradient can preferentially direct ions in saltwater into one of the diverging microfluidic channels, while desalted water flows into second diverging channel. Also provided are methods of using the devices and systems described herein to decrease the salinity of water.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Super-solar metallicity at the position of the ultra-long GRB130925A

Over the last decade there has been immense progress in the follow-up of short and long GRBs, resulting in a significant rise in the detection rate of X-ray and optical afterglows, in the determination of GRB redshifts, and of the identification of the underlying host galaxies. Nevertheless, our theoretical understanding on the progenitors and central engines powering these vast explosions is lagging behind, and a newly identified class of `ultra-long' GRBs has fuelled speculation on the existence of a new channel of GRB formation. In this paper we present high signal-to-noise X-shooter observations of the host galaxy of GRB130925A, which is the fourth unambiguously identified ultra-long GRB, with prompt gamma-ray emission detected for ~20ks. The GRB line of sight was close to the host galaxy nucleus, and our spectroscopic observations cover both this region along the bulge/disk of the galaxy, in addition to a bright star-forming region within the outskirts of the galaxy. From our broad wavelength coverage we obtain accurate metallicity and dust-extinction measurements at both the galaxy nucleus, and an outer star-forming region, and measure a super-solar metallicity at both locations, placing this galaxy within the 10-20% most metal-rich GRB host galaxies. Such a high metal enrichment has implications on the progenitor models of both long and ultra-long GRBs, although the edge-on orientation of the host galaxy does not allow us to rule out a large metallicity variation along our line of sight. The spatially resolved spectroscopic data presented in this paper offer important insight into variations in the metal and dust abundance within GRB host galaxies. They also illustrate the need for IFU observations on a larger sample of GRB host galaxies at varies metallicities to provide a more quantitative view on the relation between the GRB circumburst and the galaxy-whole properties.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, A&A in press, matches published versio

Habitat-based density models of pack-ice seal distribution in the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Climate variability and changes in sea ice dynamics have caused several ice-obligate or krill-dependent populations of marine predators to decline, eliciting concern about their demographic persistence and the indirect ecological consequences that predator depletions may have on marine ecosystems. Pack-ice seals are dominant ice-obligate predators in the Antarctic marine ecosystem, but there is considerable uncertainty about their abundance and population trends. We modelled the density and distribution of pack-ice seals as a function of environmental covariates in the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Our density surface modelling approach used data from aerial surveys of pack-ice seals collected in the 2013/14 austral summer. Crabeater seals Lobo don carcinophaga, the most numerous pack-ice seal we observed, occurred at the highest densities in areas with extensive sea ice near the continental shelf break, but were almost absent in areas of similar sea ice concentration in the southern extent of the Weddell Sea. The highest densities of Weddell seals Leptonychotes weddelli, which were less abundant than crabeater seals within the pack-ice habitat, were predicted to occur over the continental shelf, near the shelf break. The distribution of both seal species broadly corresponded with the distribution and relative abundance of their main prey (Antarctic krill Euphausia superba and Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarctica) obtained from concurrent ecosystem surveys. Ross seals Ommatophoca rossii and leopard seals Hydrurga leptonyx were not detected at all and are apparently rare within the southern Weddell Sea. These results can contribute to biodiversity assessments in the context of marine protected area planning in this region of the Southern Ocean

The warm, the excited, and the molecular gas: GRB 121024A shining through its star-forming galaxy

We present the first reported case of the simultaneous metallicity determination of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxy, from both afterglow absorption lines as well as strong emission-line diagnostics. Using spectroscopic and imaging observations of the afterglow and host of the long-duration Swift GRB121024A at z = 2.30, we give one of the most complete views of a GRB host/environment to date. We observe a strong damped Ly-alpha absorber (DLA) with a hydrogen column density of log N(HI) = 21.88 +/- 0.10, H2 absorption in the Lyman-Werner bands (molecular fraction of log(f)~ -1.4; fourth solid detection of molecular hydrogen in a GRB-DLA), the nebular emission lines H-alpha, H-beta, [O II], [O III] and [N II], as well as metal absorption lines. We find a GRB host galaxy that is highly star-forming (SFR ~ 40 solar masses/yr ), with a dust-corrected metallicity along the line of sight of [Zn/H]corr = -0.6 +/- 0.2 ([O/H] ~ -0.3 from emission lines), and a depletion factor [Zn/Fe] = 0.85 +/- 0.04. The molecular gas is separated by 400 km/s (and 1-3 kpc) from the gas that is photoexcited by the GRB. This implies a fairly massive host, in agreement with the derived stellar mass of log(M/M_solar ) = 9.9+/- 0.2. We dissect the host galaxy by characterising its molecular component, the excited gas, and the line-emitting star-forming regions. The extinction curve for the line of sight is found to be unusually flat (Rv ~15). We discuss the possibility of an anomalous grain size distributions. We furthermore discuss the different metallicity determinations from both absorption and emission lines, which gives consistent results for the line of sight to GRB 121024A.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, accepted by MNRA

The optical identifcation of events with poorly defined locations: The case of the Fermi GBM GRB140801A

We report the early discovery of the optical afterglow of gamma-ray burst (GRB) 140801A in the 137 deg$^2$ 3-$\sigma$ error-box of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM). MASTER is the only observatory that automatically react to all Fermi alerts. GRB 140801A is one of the few GRBs whose optical counterpart was discovered solely from its GBM localization. The optical afterglow of GRB 140801A was found by MASTER Global Robotic Net 53 sec after receiving the alert, making it the fastest optical detection of a GRB from a GBM error-box. Spectroscopy obtained with the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias and the 6-m BTA of SAO RAS reveals a redshift of $z=1.32$. We performed optical and near-infrared photometry of GRB 140801A using different telescopes with apertures ranging from 0.4-m to 10.4-m. GRB 140801A is a typical burst in many ways. The rest-frame bolometric isotropic energy release and peak energy of the burst is $E_\mathrm{iso} = 5.54_{-0.24}^{+0.26} \times 10^{52}$ erg and $E_\mathrm{p, rest}\simeq280$ keV, respectively, which is consistent with the Amati relation. The absence of a jet break in the optical light curve provides a lower limit on the half-opening angle of the jet $\theta=6.1$ deg. The observed $E_\mathrm{peak}$ is consistent with the limit derived from the Ghirlanda relation. The joint Fermi GBM and Konus-Wind analysis shows that GRB 140801A could belong to the class of intermediate duration. The rapid detection of the optical counterpart of GRB 140801A is especially important regarding the upcoming experiments with large coordinate error-box areas.Comment: in press MNRAS, 201

The mysterious optical afterglow spectrum of GRB140506A at z=0.889

Context. Gamma-ray burst (GRBs) afterglows probe sightlines to star-forming regions in distant star-forming galaxies. Here we present a study of the peculiar afterglow spectrum of the z = 0.889 Swift GRB 140506A. Aims. Our aim is to understand the origin of the very unusual properties of the absorption along the line-of-sight. Methods. We analyse spectroscopic observations obtained with the X-shooter spectrograph mounted on the ESO/VLT at two epochs 8.8 h and 33 h after the burst as well as imaging from the GROND instrument. We also present imaging and spectroscopy of the host galaxy obtained with the Magellan telescope. Results. The underlying afterglow appears to be a typical afterglow of a long-duration GRB. However, the material along the line-of- sight has imprinted very unusual features on the spectrum. Firstly, there is a very broad and strong flux drop below 8000 AA (4000 AA in the rest frame), which seems to be variable between the two spectroscopic epochs. We can reproduce the flux-drops both as a giant 2175 AA extinction bump and as an effect of multiple scattering on dust grains in a dense environment. Secondly, we detect absorption lines from excited H i and He i. We also detect molecular absorption from CH+ . Conclusions. We interpret the unusual properties of these spectra as reflecting the presence of three distinct regions along the line-of-sight: the excited He i absorption originates from an H ii-region, whereas the Balmer absorption must originate from an associated photodissociation region. The strong metal line and molecular absorption and the dust extinction must originate from a third, cooler region along the line-of-sight. The presence of (at least) three separate regions is reflected in the fact that the different absorption components have different velocities relative to the systemic redshift of the host galaxy.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publications in A&

Shelf ice-associated cryo-benthos and environmental features

Incidences of cryo-benthic communities beneath ice shelves are rare and recent discoveries. Combined seal- and ROV-borne imagery and novel sampling technologies allowed for a re-assessment and augmentation of earlier findings on a cryo-benthic isopod community (Antarcturus cf. spinacoronatus), being attached head-down to the underside of floating shelf ice at depths of around 80-150m. The shelf ice-associated cryo-benthos was discovered at Drescher Inlet (-72.83667 -19.15300), Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf (eastern Weddell Sea). The inlet constitutes a 25km long and between 2 and 4km wide crack in the surrounding shelf ice, which is associated with certain environmental features. Here we compile all available local physical, biological, and biogeochemical data and discuss their relevance in the wider regional context for this faunal hotspot. These include data on shelf, sea and platelet ice, seafloor topography, hydrography and water chemistry, as well as associated pelagic and benthic marine life, in particular affinities of the cryo-benthic isopod community to related fauna occurring in nearby seabed communities using molecular barcoding

The evolution of superluminous supernova LSQ14mo and its interacting host galaxy system

We present and analyse an extensive dataset of the superluminous supernova (SLSN) LSQ14mo (z = 0.256), consisting of a multi-colour light curve from-30 d to +70 d in the rest-frame (relative to maximum light) and a series of six spectra from PESSTO covering-7 d to +50 d. This is among the densest spectroscopic coverage, and best-constrained rising light curve, for a fast-declining hydrogen-poor SLSN. The bolometric light curve can be reproduced with a millisecond magnetar model with 4 M⊙ ejecta mass, and the temperature and velocity evolution is also suggestive of a magnetar as the power source. Spectral modelling indicates that the SN ejected 6 M⊙ of CO-rich material with a kinetic energy of 7 × 1051 erg, and suggests a partially thermalised additional source of luminosity between-2 d and +22 d. This may be due to interaction with a shell of material originating from pre-explosion mass loss. We further present a detailed analysis of the host galaxy system of LSQ14mo. PESSTO and GROND imaging show three spatially resolved bright regions, and we used the VLT and FORS2 to obtain a deep (five-hour exposure) spectra of the SN position and the three star-forming regions, which are at a similar redshift. The FORS2 spectrum at + 300 days shows no trace of SN emission lines and we place limits on the strength of [O i] from comparisons with other Ic supernovae. The deep spectra provides a unique chance to investigate spatial variations in the host star-formation activity and metallicity. The specific star-formation rate is similar in all three components,as is the presence of a young stellar population. However, the position of LSQ14mo exhibits a lower metallicity, with 12 + log (O/H) = 8.2 in both the R23 and N2 scales (corresponding to 0.3 Z⊙). We propose that the three bright regions in the host system are interacting, which could induce gas flows triggering star formation in low-metallicity regions. © ESO, 2017

A genome-wide resource for the analysis of protein localisation in Drosophila

The Drosophila genome contains >13000 protein-coding genes, the majority of which remain poorly investigated. Important reasons include the lack of antibodies or reporter constructs to visualise these proteins. Here, we present a genome-wide fosmid library of 10000 GFP-tagged clones, comprising tagged genes and most of their regulatory information. For 880 tagged proteins, we created transgenic lines, and for a total of 207 lines, we assessed protein expression and localisation in ovaries, embryos, pupae or adults by stainings and live imaging approaches. Importantly, we visualised many proteins at endogenous expression levels and found a large fraction of them localising to subcellular compartments. By applying genetic complementation tests, we estimate that about two-thirds of the tagged proteins are functional. Moreover, these tagged proteins enable interaction proteomics from developing pupae and adult flies. Taken together, this resource will boost systematic analysis of protein expression and localisation in various cellular and developmental contexts