441 research outputs found
Wide-Field Survey of Emission-line Stars in IC 1396
We have made an extensive survey of emission-line stars in the IC 1396 HII
region to investigate the low-mass population of pre-main sequence (PMS) stars.
A total of 639 H-alpha emission-line stars were detected in an area of 4.2
deg^2 and their i'-photometry was measured. Their spatial distribution exhibits
several aggregates near the elephant trunk globule (Rim A) and bright-rimmed
clouds at the edge of the HII region (Rim B and SFO 37, 38, 39, 41), and near
HD 206267, which is the main exciting star of the HII region. Based on the
extinction estimated from the near-infrared (NIR) color-color diagram, we have
selected pre-main sequence star candidates associated with IC 1396. The age and
mass were derived from the extinction corrected color-magnitude diagram and
theoretical pre-main sequence tracks. Most of our PMS candidates have ages of <
3 Myr and masses of 0.2-0.6 Mo. Although it appears that only a few stars were
formed in the last 1 Myr in the east region of the exciting star, the age
difference among subregions in our surveyed area is not clear from the
statistical test. Our results may suggest that massive stars were born after
the continuous formation of low-mass stars for 10 Myr. The birth of the
exciting star could be the late stage of slow but contiguous star formation in
the natal molecular cloud. It may have triggered to form many low-mass stars at
the dense inhomogeneity in and around the HII region by a radiation-driven
implosion.Comment: 48 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in A
Are Steroids Still Useful in Immunosuppressed Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease? A Retrospective, Population-Based Study
Background: Effectiveness of corticosteroids in immunosuppressed patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been completely elucidated. Aims: To assess the effectiveness and examine the long-term follow-up of systemic or low-bioavailability oral steroid treatment for moderate flare-ups in patients treated with immunosuppressive drugs. Methods: Immunosuppressed patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from our population-data registry were analyzed. For statistical analysis, the chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used as appropriate. Results: A total of 392 patients with IBD and a median of 82 (range, 6–271) months of immunosuppressive (IMM) treatment were identified. The mean follow-up was 87 months (range, 6–239 months). A total of 89 patients (23%) needed at least one steroid course during their follow-up. Average time from IMM to steroid treatment was 26 (range, 6–207) months. In patients with CD, fibrostenotic (B2) and fistulizing (B3) behaviors [p = 0.005; odds ratio (OR): 2.284] were risk factors for using steroids after IMM treatment. In patients with UC, no statistically significant variables were identified. Of the 89 patients who received one first steroid course, 49 (55%) stepped up to biological treatment or surgery after a median of 13 months (range, 0–178), 19 (21%) were treated with repeated steroid courses, and 31 (35%) required no further treatment. Patients with CD had a higher risk (p = 0.007; OR: 3.529) of receiving biological treatment or surgery than patients with UC. The longer the patients with UC (more months) spent using steroids, the greater the risk of requiring treatment with biological drugs or surgery (p = 0.009). Conclusion: A total of 23% of the immunosuppressed patients with IBD received at least one course of steroid treatment. In patients under immunosuppression treated with at least a course of steroids, CD patients were more likely stepped up to biologics and/or surgery than UC patients. In patients with CD, B2/B3 behavior pattern were significant risk factors. After one course of steroids only 35% of immunosuppressed IBD patients remained in remission without needing treatment scalation. © Copyright © 2021 Sicilia, Arias, Hontoria, García, Badia and Gomollón
A Survey on Linked Data and the Social Web as facilitators for TEL recommender systems
Personalisation, adaptation and recommendation are central features
of TEL environments. In this context, information retrieval techniques are applied
as part of TEL recommender systems to filter and recommend learning resources
or peer learners according to user preferences and requirements. However,
the suitability and scope of possible recommendations is fundamentally
dependent on the quality and quantity of available data, for instance, metadata
about TEL resources as well as users. On the other hand, throughout the last
years, the Linked Data (LD) movement has succeeded to provide a vast body of
well-interlinked and publicly accessible Web data. This in particular includes
Linked Data of explicit or implicit educational nature. The potential of LD to
facilitate TEL recommender systems research and practice is discussed in this
paper. In particular, an overview of most relevant LD sources and techniques is
provided, together with a discussion of their potential for the TEL domain in
general and TEL recommender systems in particular. Results from highly related
European projects are presented and discussed together with an analysis of
prevailing challenges and preliminary solutions.LinkedU
Pre-main-sequence population in NGC 1893 region
In this paper we continued our efforts to understand the star formation
scenario in and around the young cluster NGC 1893. We used a sample of the
young stellar sources (YSOs) identified on the basis of multiwavelength data
(optical, near-infrared (NIR), mid-infrared (MIR) and X-ray) to study the
nature of YSOs associated with the region. The identified YSOs show an age
spread of ~ 5 Myr. The YSOs located near the nebulae at the periphery of the
cluster are relatively younger in comparison to those located within the
cluster region. The present results are in accordance with those obtained by us
in previous studies. Other main results from the present study are: 1) the
fraction of disk bearing stars increases towards the periphery of the cluster;
2) there is an evidence supporting the notion that the mechanisms for disk
dispersal operate less efficiently for low-mass stars; 3) the sample of Class
II sources is found to be relatively older in comparison to that of Class III
sources. A comparison of various properties of YSOs in the NGC 1893 region with
those in the Tr 37/ IC 1396 region is also discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in New Astronom
A Possible Detection of Occultation by a Proto-planetary Clump in GM Cephei
GM Cep in the young (~4 Myr) open cluster Trumpler 37 has been known to be an
abrupt variable and to have a circumstellar disk with very active accretion.
Our monitoring observations in 2009-2011 revealed the star to show sporadic
flare events, each with brightening of < 0.5 mag lasting for days. These
brightening events, associated with a color change toward the blue, should
originate from an increased accretion activity. Moreover, the star also
underwent a brightness drop of ~1 mag lasting for about a month, during which
the star became bluer when fainter. Such brightness drops seem to have a
recurrence time scale of a year, as evidenced in our data and the photometric
behavior of GM Cep over a century. Between consecutive drops, the star
brightened gradually by about 1 mag and became blue at peak luminosity. We
propose that the drop is caused by obscuration of the central star by an
orbiting dust concentration. The UX Orionis type of activity in GM Cep
therefore exemplifies the disk inhomogeneity process in transition between
grain coagulation and planetesimal formation in a young circumstellar disk.Comment: In submission to the Astrophysical Journal, 4 figure
Candidate Coronagraphic Detections of Protoplanetary Disks around Four Young Stars
We present potential detections of H-band scattered light emission around
four young star, selected from a total sample of 45 young stars observed with
the CIAO coronagraph of the Subaru telescope. Two CTTS, CI Tau and DI Cep, and
two WTTS, LkCa 14 and RXJ 0338.3+1020 were detected. In all four cases, the
extended emission is within the area of the residual PSF halo, and is revealed
only through careful data reduction. We compare the observed extended emission
with simulations of the scattered light emission, to evaluate the plausibility
and nature of the detected emission.Comment: 9 Figures, 40 page
Analysis and characterization of transition states in metabolic systems. Transition times and the passivity of the output flux
Discovery and Observations of ASASSN-13db, an EX Lupi-Type Accretion Event on a Low-Mass T Tauri Star
We discuss ASASSN-13db, an EX Lupi-type ("EXor") accretion event on the young
stellar object (YSO) SDSS J051011.01032826.2 (hereafter SDSSJ0510)
discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN). Using
archival photometric data of SDSSJ0510 we construct a pre-outburst spectral
energy distribution (SED) and find that it is consistent with a low-mass class
II YSO near the Orion star forming region ( pc). We present
follow-up photometric and spectroscopic observations of the source after the
5.4 magnitude outburst that began in September 2013 and ended
in early 2014. These data indicate an increase in temperature and luminosity
consistent with an accretion rate of yr,
three or more orders of magnitude greater than in quiescence. Spectroscopic
observations show a forest of narrow emission lines dominated by neutral
metallic lines from Fe I and some low-ionization lines. The properties of
ASASSN-13db are similar to those of the EXor prototype EX Lupi during its
strongest observed outburst in late 2008.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Updated May 2014 to reflect changes in
the final version published in ApJL. Photometric data presented in this
submission are included as ancillary files. For a brief video explaining this
paper, see http://youtu.be/yRCCrNJnvt
Mid-Infrared Variability of protostars in IC 1396A
We have used Spitzer/IRAC to conduct a photometric monitoring program of the
IC1396A dark globule in order to study the mid-IR (3.6 - 8 micron) variability
of the heavily embedded Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) present in that area. We
obtained light curves covering a 14 day timespan with a twice daily cadence for
69 YSOs, and continuous light curves with approximately 12 second cadence over
7 hours for 38 YSOs. Typical accuracies for our relative photometry were 1-2%
for the long timespan data and a few mmag, corresponding to less than 0.5%, for
the 7 hour continuous "staring-mode" data. More than half of the YSOs showed
detectable variability, with amplitudes from ~0.05 mag to ~0.2 mag. About
thirty percent of the YSOs showed quasi-sinusoidal light curve shapes with
apparent periods from 5-12 days and light curve amplitudes approximately
independent of wavelength over the IRAC bandpasses. We have constructed models
which simulate the time dependent spectral energy distributions of Class I and
I I YSOs in order to attempt to explain these light curves. Based on these
models, the apparently periodic light curves are best explained by YSO models
where one or two high latitude photospheric spots heat the inner wall of the
circumstellar disk, and where we view the disk at fairly large inclination
angle. Disk inhomogeneities, such as increasing the height where the accretion
funnel flows to the stellar hotspot, enhances the light curve modulations. The
other YSOs in our sample show a range of light curve shapes, some of which are
probably due to varying accretion rate or disk shadowing events. One star,
IC1396A-47, shows a 3.5 hour periodic light curve; this object may be a PMS
Delta Scuti star
The Disk Population of the Taurus Star-Forming Region
We have analyzed nearly all images of the Taurus star-forming region at
3.6-24um that were obtained during the cryogenic mission of the Spitzer Space
Telescope (46 deg^2) and have measured photometry for all known members of the
region that are within these data, corresponding to 348 sources. We have
classified the members of Taurus according to whether they show evidence of
disks and envelopes (classes I, II, and III). The disk fraction in Taurus is
75% for solar-mass stars and declines to 45% for low-mass stars and brown
dwarfs (0.01-0.3 M_sun). This dependence on stellar mass is similar to that
measured for Cha I, although the disk fraction in Taurus is slightly higher
overall, probably because of its younger age (1 vs. 2-3 Myr). In comparison,
the disk fraction for solar-mass stars is much lower (20%) in IC 348 and Sigma
Ori, which are denser than Taurus and Cha I and are roughly coeval with the
latter. These data indicate that disk lifetimes for solar-mass stars are longer
in regions that have lower stellar densities. Through an analysis of multiple
epochs of photometry that are available for ~200 Taurus members, we find that
stars with disks exhibit significantly greater mid-IR variability than diskless
stars. Finally, we have used our data in Taurus to refine the criteria for
primordial, evolved, and transitional disks. The number ratio of evolved and
transitional disks to primordial disks in Taurus is 15/98 for K5-M5, indicating
a timescale of 0.15 x tau(primordial)=0.45 Myr for the clearing of the inner
regions of optically thick disks. After applying the same criteria to older
clusters (2-10 Myr), we find that the proportions of evolved and transitional
disks in those populations are consistent with the measurements in Taurus when
their star formation histories are properly taken into account. ERRATUM: In
Table 7, we inadvertently omitted the spectral type bins in which class II
sources were placed in Table 8 based on their bolometric luminosities (applies
only to stars that lack spectroscopic classifications). The bins were K6-M3.5
for FT Tau, DK Tau B, and IRAS 04370+2559, M3.5-M6 for IRAS 04200+2759, IT Tau
B, and ITG 1, and M6-M8 for IRAS 04325+2402 C. In addition, the values of
K_s-[3.6] in Table 13 and Figure 26 for spectral types of M4-M9 are incorrect.
We present corrected versions of Table 13 and Figure 26.Comment: revised version with Erratum (in press
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