XMM-Newton view of the double-peaked Fe K-alpha complex in E1821+643

We present the results of the analysis of the hard band XMM-Newton spectra of the luminous, L(2-10keV)~3.4E+45 erg/s, radio-quiet quasar, E1821+643. Two emission features were observed in the 6-7 keV rest frame band, confirming previous Chandra detection of these structures. We interpret these features as two single emission lines, one consistent with the neutral Fe K-alpha line at 6.4 keV and the other most likely due to FeXXVI. If related to the quasar, the high-energy emission line should originate in highly ionised matter, i.e. the accretion disc or the clouds of the emission line regions. Alternatively, it may be related to the intergalactic medium of the rich galaxy cluster in which E1821+643 is embedded. A composite broad emission line in combination with an absorption line model, however, also fits the data well. We discuss the possible physical interpretations of the origin of these features.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 7 pages and 7 figure

The XMM-Newton view of PG quasars: II. Properties of the Fe K-alpha line

The properties of the fluorescence Fe K-alpha emission lines of a sample of 38 quasars (QSOs) observed with XMM-Newton are studied. These objects are included in the optically selected sample from the Palomar-Green (PG) Bright Quasar Survey with an X-ray luminosity 1.3E43<L(2-10 keV)<5.1E45 ergs/s and z<1.72. For each object in the sample, we investigated the presence of both narrow and broad iron lines in detail. A total of 20 out of the 38 QSOs show evidence of an Fe K-alpha emission line with a narrow profile. The majority of the lines are consistent with an origin in low ionization material, which is likely to be located in the outer parts of the accretion disk, the molecular torus, and/or the Broad Line Region. The average properties of the narrow Fe K-alpha emission line observed in the sample are similar to those of Seyfert type galaxies as inferred from recent XMM-Newton and Chandra studies. A broad line has been significantly detected in only three objects. Furthermore, we studied the relationship between the equivalent width (EW) of the iron line and the hard band X-ray luminosity for radio quiet quasars. The analysis indicates that no clear correlation between the strength of the line and the hard X-ray luminosity is present, and our results do not show compelling evidence for an anticorrelation between these two quantities, i.e. the so-called X-ray Baldwin effect.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted by A&

A Time-Varying Non-Parametric Methodology for Assessing Changes in QT Variability Unrelated to Heart Rate Variability

OBJECTIVE: To propose and test a novel methodology to measure changes in QT interval variability (QTV) unrelated to RR interval variability (RRV) in non-stationary conditions. METHODS: Time-frequency coherent and residual spectra representing QTV related (QTVrRRV) and unrelated (QTVuRRV) to RRV, respectively, are estimated using time-frequency Cohen's class distributions. The proposed approach decomposes the non-stationary output spectrum of any two-input one-output model with uncorrelated inputs into two spectra representing the information related and unrelated to one of the two inputs, respectively. An algorithm to correct for the bias of the time-frequency coherence function between QTV and RRV is proposed to provide accurate estimates of both QTVuRRV and QTVrRRV. Two simulation studies were conducted to assess the methodology in challenging non-stationary conditions and data recorded during head-up tilt in 16 healthy volunteers were analyzed. RESULTS: In the simulation studies, QTVuRRV changes were tracked with only a minor delay due to the filtering necessary to estimate the non-stationary spectra. The correlation coefficient between theoretical and estimated patterns was >0.92 even for extremely noisy recordings (SNR in QTV =-10dB). During head-up tilt, QTVrRRV explained the largest proportion of QTV, whereas QTVuRRV showed higher relative increase than QTV or QTVrRRV in all spectral bands (P<0.05 for most pairwise comparisons). CONCLUSION: The proposed approach accurately tracks changes in QTVuRRV. Head-up tilt induced a slightly greater increase in QTVuRRV than in QTVrRRV. SIGNIFICANCE: The proposed index QTVuRRV may represent an indirect measure of intrinsic ventricular repolarization variability, a marker of cardiac instability associated with sympathetic ventricular modulation and sudden cardiac death

A long hard look at the minimum state of PG 2112+059 with XMM-Newton

XMM-Newton successfully detected the minimum state of PG 2112+059 during a short snapshot observation and performed a long follow-up observation. The high signal-to-noise spectra are modelled assuming different emission scenarios and compared with archival spectra taken by XMM-Newton and Chandra. The PG 2112+059 X-ray spectra acquired in May 2007 allowed the detection of a weak iron fluorescent line, which is interpreted as being caused by reflection from neutral material at some distance from the primary X-ray emitting source. The X-ray spectra of PG 2112+059 taken at five different epochs during different flux states can be interpreted within two different scenarios. The first consists of two layers of ionised material with column densities of N_H ~5 x 10^22 cm^-2 and N_H ~3.5 x 10^23 cm^-2, respectively. The first layer is moderately ionised and its ionisation levels follow the flux changes, while the other layer is highly ionised and does not show any correlation with the flux of the source. The spectra can also be interpreted assuming reflection by an ionised accretion disk seen behind a warm absorber. The warm absorber ionisation is consistent with being correlated with the flux of the source, which provides an additional degree of self-consistency with the overall reflection-based model. We explain the spectral variability with light bending according to the models of Miniutti and Fabian and constrain the black hole spin to be a/M > 0.86. Both scenarios also assume that a distant cold reflector is responsible for the Fe K \alpha emission line. Light bending provides an attractive explanation of the different states of PG 2112+059 and may also describe the physical cause of the observed properties of other X-ray weak quasars.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, A&A latex, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Random dopant-induced variability in Si-InAs nanowire tunnel FETs: a quantum transport simulation study

In this letter, we report a quantum transport simu- lation study of the impact of Random Discrete Dopants (RDD)s on Si-InAs nanowire p-type Tunnel FETs. The band-to-band tunneling is simulated using the non-equilibrium Green’s func- tion formalism in effective mass approximation, implementing a two-band model of the imaginary dispersion. We have found that RDDs induce strong variability not only in the OFF-state but also in the ON-state current of the TFETs. Contrary to the nearly normal distribution of the RDD induced ON-current variations in conventional CMOS transistors, the TFET’s ON- currents variations are described by a logarithmic distribution. The distributions of other Figures of Merit (FoM) such as threshold voltage and subthreshold swing are also reported. The variability in the FoM is analysed by studying the correlation between the number and the position of the dopants

Respiratory Rate Derived from Pulse Photoplethysmographic Signal by Pulse Decomposition Analysis

A novel technique to derive respiratory rate from pulse photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals is presented. It exploits some morphological features of the PPG pulse that are known to be modulated by respiration: amplitude, slope transit time, and width of the main wave, and time to the first reflected wave. A pulse decomposition analysis technique is proposed to measure these features. This technique allows to decompose the PPG pulse into its main wave and its subsequent reflected waves, improving the robustness against noise and morphological changes that usually occur in long-term recordings. Proposed methods were evaluated with a data base containing PPG and plethysmography-based respiratory signals simultaneously recorded during a paced-breathing experiment. Results suggest that normal ranges of spontaneous respiratory rate (0.1-0.5 Hz) can be accurately estimated (median and interquartile range of relative error less than 5%) from PPG signals by using the studied features

Non-linear analysis of heart rate variability and its application to predict hypotension during spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery

A non-linear analysis of heart rate variability is carried out through two complexity measures (Correlation Dimension and Pointwise Correlation Dimension) and two regularity measures (Approximate Entropy and Sample Entropy) in order to predict hypotension episodes occurred during spinal anesthesia in cesarean delivery. These methods are applied to RR-interval series, during which woman adopts two alternative positions, one physiologically relaxed (PR) and one physiologically stressed (PS). Results show that women who developed hypotension have significantly higher (p-value = 0.05) complexity measures at PR position, (and significantly lower values for the PS position), than those who did not developed the disease. Regarding the regularity measures, women who developed hypotension have lower values, but not arriving to significance, during PS position than those who did not developed it, whereas those values remain almost constant for PR position

Photoplethysmogram Signal Morphology-Based Stress Assessment

Stress is a healthy natural response to a perceived or actual threat. However, when stress is persistent, it may decrease work productivity, increase the risk of diseases, and affect the quality of life. Stress is reflected in physiological variables, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and pulse wave velocity among others. A photoplethys-mogram (PPG) contains information related to pulse rate and blood pressure. This study analyses parameters derived from PPG signal morphology for mental stress assessment.A low-complexity algorithm is designed using bandpass filtered higher-order derivatives of the PPG signal for estimation of six morphological parameters: the forward pulse wave amplitude A1, the systole and diastole durations T1 and Td, the time delays of reflected waves T12 and T13 from the renal and iliac sites in the central arteries, and the pulse duration Tp. The parameters were investigated on a set of 18 healthy subjects by using a modified Trier Social Stress Test.The results show that the most sensitive PPG morphology parameters to mental stress are the amplitude of forward wave A1, the duration of diastole Td, the time delay of the reflected wave T13, and the pulse-to-pulse interval Tp