654 research outputs found
The Massive Wolf-Rayet Binary SMC WR7
We present a study of optical spectra of the Wolf--Rayet star AzV 336a (= SMC
WR7) in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Our study is based on data obtained at
several Observatories between 1988 and 2001. We find SMC WR7 to be a double
lined WN+O6 spectroscopic binary with an orbital period of 19.56 days. The
radial velocities of the He absorption lines of the O6 component and the strong
He{\sc ii} emission at 4686\AA of the WN component describe antiphased
orbital motions. However, they show a small phase shift of 1 day. We
discuss possible explanations for this phase shift. The amplitude of the radial
velocity variations of He {\sc ii} emission is twice that of the absorption
lines. The binary components have fairly high minimum masses, 18
\modot and 34 \modot for the WN and O6 components, respectively.Comment: Accepted by MNRA
Critical Fluctuation of Wind Reversals in Convective Turbulence
The irregular reversals of wind direction in convective turbulence are found
to have fluctuating intervals that can be related to critical behavior. It is
shown that the net magnetization of a 2D Ising lattice of finite size
fluctuates in the same way. Detrended fluctuation analysis of the wind reversal
time series results in a scaling behavior that agrees with that of the Ising
problem. The properties found suggest that the wind reversal phenomenon
exhibits signs of self-organized criticality.Comment: 4 RevTeX pages + 3 figures in ep
Impact of reindeer grazing on ground-dwelling Carabidae and Curculionidae assemblages in Lapland
Reindeer Rangifer tarandus L. grazing shapes forest vegetation, microclimate, and soil respiration in Lapland, especially due to grazing on lichens (Cladina). We studied how these changes and their magnitude affect ground-dwelling species of beetle families Carabidae (predators) and Curculionidae (herbivores), by using pitfall traps to collect invertebrates from pairs of grazed and ungrazed study plots over a wide range of site types. Changes in abundance, composition, richness and diversity of beetle assemblage were tested in relation to magnitude of the impacts on vegetation. The species compositions of Carabidae and Curculionidae differed between grazed and ungrazed plots in all sites. The relative difference between grazed and ungrazed plots in the number of individuals increased linearly with the impact of reindeer on vegetation cover. Carabid beetles, as a family, were more common in grazed plots in all sites. Curculionid beetles were more common in ungrazed plots in the birch dominated sites. This difference was mainly due to the species that feeds on deciduous leaves. In the pine dominated sites with high Cladina cover and more changes in ground vegetation, the number of curculionids feeding on conifers was higher in grazed plots. Species richness and diversity (H') of both families were higher in grazed plots. Of the total 27 species, 11 were found only in grazed plots, while not a single species was found only in ungrazed plots. The relative difference between plots in diversity and evennes (H'/H' max) had humped response to the difference in Cladina cover. The diversity values were greater in grazed plots at the intermediate levels of grazing impact, and only in sites with very low or extremely high Cladina cover difference was the diversity higher in ungrazed plots. The response of beetle diversity resembled the hypotheses suggested for the relationship between grazing and vegetation diversity: greatest positive effect at intermediate grazing intensity and negative effects at unproductive sites
Heat transport by turbulent Rayleigh-B\'enard convection for $\Pra\ \simeq 0.83\times 10^{12} \alt \Ra\ \alt 10^{15}\Gamma = 0.50$
We report experimental results for heat-transport measurements, in the form
of the Nusselt number \Nu, by turbulent Rayleigh-B\'enard convection in a
cylindrical sample of aspect ratio ( m is
the diameter and m the height). The measurements were made using
sulfur hexafluoride at pressures up to 19 bars as the fluid. They are for the
Rayleigh-number range 3\times 10^{12} \alt \Ra \alt 10^{15} and for Prandtl
numbers \Pra\ between 0.79 and 0.86. For \Ra < \Ra^*_1 \simeq 1.4\times
10^{13} we find \Nu = N_0 \Ra^{\gamma_{eff}} with , consistent with classical turbulent Rayleigh-B\'enard convection in a
system with laminar boundary layers below the top and above the bottom plate.
For \Ra^*_1 < \Ra < \Ra^*_2 (with \Ra^*_2 \simeq 5\times 10^{14})
gradually increases up to . We argue that above
\Ra^*_2 the system is in the ultimate state of convection where the boundary
layers, both thermal and kinetic, are also turbulent. Several previous
measurements for are re-examined and compared with the present
results.Comment: 44 pages, 18 figures, submitted to NJ
Depletion of Mediator Kinase Module Subunits Represses Superenhancer-Associated Genes in Colon Cancer Cells
In cancer, oncogene activation is partly mediated by acquired superenhancers, which therefore represent potential targets for inhibition. Superenhancers are enriched for BRD4 and Mediator, and both BRD4 and the Mediator MED12 subunit are disproportionally required for expression of superenhancer-associated genes in stem cells. Here we show that depletion of Mediator kinase module subunit MED12 or MED13 together with MED13L can be used to reduce expression of cancer-acquired superenhancer genes, such as the MYC gene, in colon cancer cells, with a concomitant decrease in proliferation. Whereas depletion of MED12 or MED13/MED13L caused a disproportional decrease of superenhancer gene expression, this was not seen with depletion of the kinases cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK8) and CDK19. MED12-MED13/MED13L-dependent superenhancer genes were coregulated by beta-catenin, which has previously been shown to associate with MED12. Importantly, beta-catenin depletion caused reduced binding of MED12 at the MYC superenhancer. The effect of MED12 or MED13/MED13L depletion on cancer-acquired superenhancer gene expression was more specific than and partially distinct from that of BRD4 depletion, with the most efficient inhibition seen with combined targeting. These results identify a requirement of MED12 and MED13/MED13L for expression of acquired superenhancer genes in colon cancer, implicating these Mediator subunits as potential therapeutic targets for colon cancer, alone or together with BRD4.Peer reviewe
Wind reversals in turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection
The phenomenon of irregular cessation and subsequent reversal of the
large-scale circulation in turbulent Rayleigh-B\'enard convection is
theoretically analysed. The force and thermal balance on a single plume
detached from the thermal boundary layer yields a set of coupled nonlinear
equations, whose dynamics is related to the Lorenz equations. For Prandtl and
Rayleigh numbers in the range and 10^{7} \leq
\Ra \leq 10^{12}, the model has the following features: (i) chaotic reversals
may be exhibited at Ra ; (ii) the Reynolds number based on the
root mean square velocity scales as \Re_{rms} \sim \Ra^{[0.41 ...
0.47]} (depending on Pr), and as
(depending on Ra); and (iii) the mean reversal frequency follows an effective
scaling law \omega / (\nu L^{-2}) \sim \Pr^{-(0.64 \pm 0.01)} \Ra^{0.44 \pm
0.01}. The phase diagram of the model is sketched, and the observed
transitions are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Attractive Interaction Between Pulses in a Model for Binary-Mixture Convection
Recent experiments on convection in binary mixtures have shown that the
interaction between localized waves (pulses) can be repulsive as well as {\it
attractive} and depends strongly on the relative {\it orientation} of the
pulses. It is demonstrated that the concentration mode, which is characteristic
of the extended Ginzburg-Landau equations introduced recently, allows a natural
understanding of that result. Within the standard complex Ginzburg-Landau
equation this would not be possible.Comment: 7 pages revtex with 3 postscript figures (uuencoded
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