3,270 research outputs found
The Benue-Gongola-Chad Basin : zone of ethnic and linguistic compression
We wish to emphasize the fact that so far our investigations have concentrated on documenting large bodies of data covering a number of linguistic units in an area which - as we hope to have demonstrated - displays a highly complex linguistic and ethnic structure. Our aim in the above remarks is essentially to throw out a challenge. In order to be able to interpret this situation in terms of the historic development of this zone of compression, further investigations are required, particularly regarding linguistic interference between Chadic and Niger-Congo languages in the south, as well as between Chadic and Nilo-Saharan languages, particularly Kanuri in the north-east and Songhay in the north-west. Ultimately, questions like the following are at stake: To what extent did the numerous Chadic languages preserve their original Hamitosemitic heritage? What is the impact of the Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan languages on individual Chadic languages in the respective border areas? In this context, detailed comparative studies between Chadic and Adamawa on the one hand, Chadic and Jukunoid and Chadic and Jarawan Bantu on the other hand as well as Chadic internal research, are urgently required
Freeware solutions for spectropolarimetric data reduction
Most of the solar physicists use very expensive software for data reduction
and visualization. We present hereafter a reliable freeware solution based on
the Python language. This is made possible by the association of the latter
with a small set of additional libraries developed in the scientific community.
It provides then a very powerful and economical alternative to other
interactive data languages. Although it can also be used for any kind of
post-processing of data, we demonstrate the capabities of such a set of
freeware tools using THeMIS observations of the second solar spectrum.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures (to appear in the Procs. of Solar Polarization
Workshop #5, eds. Berdyugina, Nagendra and Ramelli
Microwave emission from spinning dust in circumstellar disks
In the high density environments of circumstellar disks dust grains are
expected to grow to large sizes by coagulation. Somewhat unexpectedly, recent
near-IR observations of PAH features from disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars
demonstrate that substantial amount of dust mass in these disks (up to several
tens of per cent of the total carbon content) can be locked up in particles
with sizes ranging from several to tens of nanometers. We investigate the
possibility of detecting the electric dipole emission produced by these
nanoparticles as they spin at thermal rates (tens of GHz) in cold gas. We show
that such emission peaks in the microwave range and dominates over the thermal
disk emission at \nu 5 % of the
total carbon abundance is locked up in nanoparticles. We test the sensitivity
of this prediction to various stellar and disk parameters and show that if the
potential contamination of the spinning dust component by the free-free and/or
synchrotron emission can be removed, then the best chances of detecting this
emission would be in disks with small opacity, having SEDs with steep sub-mm
slopes (which minimizes thermal disk emission at GHz frequencies). Detection of
the spinning dust emission would provide important evidence for the existence,
properties, and origin of the population of small dust particles in
protoplanetary disks, with possible ramifications for planet formation.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Ap
Introductory comments
Vibroacoustic and thermal environment data gathered from the first three flights of the space shuttle are presented. The characterization of the particulate, gaseous, and electromagnetic emissions associated with the shuttle flight is emphasized. Measurements of vehicle glow light emissions and material effects (mass loss) due to the low Earth environment interactions with the shuttle vehicle are presented
Infrared Spectroscopy of the Diffuse Ionized Halo of NGC 891
We present infrared spectroscopy from the Spitzer Space Telescope at one disk
position and two positions at a height of 1 kpc from the disk in the edge-on
spiral NGC 891, with the primary goal of studying halo ionization. Our main
result is that the [Ne III]/[Ne II] ratio, which provides a measure of the
hardness of the ionizing spectrum free from the major problems plaguing optical
line ratios, is enhanced in the extraplanar pointings relative to the disk
pointing. Using a 2D Monte Carlo-based photo-ionization code which accounts for
the effects of radiation field hardening, we find that this trend cannot be
reproduced by any plausible photo-ionization model, and that a secondary source
of ionization must therefore operate in gaseous halos. We also present the
first spectroscopic detections of extraplanar PAH features in an external
normal galaxy. If they are in an exponential layer, very rough emission
scale-heights of 330-530 pc are implied for the various features. Extinction
may be non-negligible in the midplane and reduce these scale-heights
significantly. There is little significant variation in the relative emission
from the various features between disk and extraplanar environment. Only the
17.4 micron feature is significantly enhanced in the extraplanar gas compared
to the other features, possibly indicating a preference for larger PAHs in the
halo.Comment: 35 pages in ApJ preprint format, 8 figures, accepted for publication
in ApJ. Minor change to Introduction to give appropriate credit to earlier,
related wor
Differential associations between actual and expected GP practice prescribing rates for statins, ACE inhibitors, and beta-blockers: a cross-sectional study in England
AIM: To explore the relationship between actual and expected general medical practitioner (GP) practice prescribing rates for statins, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and beta-blockers. BACKGROUND: There is a growing body of literature highlighting inequities in GP practice prescribing rates for many drug therapies. The equity of prescribing is of central importance in the area of therapeutics since it explores the interface between those patients who should and those who actually do receive a drug therapy. SETTING: Four primary care trusts (PCTs 1–4) in the North West of England, including 132 GP practices. METHODS: Actual and expected prescribing rates for statins, beta-blockers, and ACE inhibitors were specifically developed for each GP practice. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant correlations between actual and expected prescribing rates in PCT2 and PCT3, although in PCT1 there were statistically significant correlations for statins (0.286, p < 0.05) and ACE inhibitors (0.381, p < 0.01). In PCT4, correlations were moderate to high for beta-blockers (0.693, p < 0.01), and moderate for statins (0.541, p < 0.05) and ACE inhibitors (0.585, p < 0.01). Scatterplots highlighted large variations between individual GP practices (both within and between PCTs) in terms of the relationship between actual and expected prescribing rates. CONCLUSION: This paper highlights variability between PCTs and GP practices in terms of the relationship between actual and expected prescribing rates. The findings from this paper may further advance the suggestion of inequities in prescribing rates for coronary heart disease (CHD) drugs, and studies such as this may be repeated in different therapeutic areas, healthcare settings, and countries
IRAC Excess in Distant Star-Forming Galaxies: Tentative Evidence for the 3.3m Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Feature ?
We present evidence for the existence of an IRAC excess in the spectral
energy distribution (SED) of 5 galaxies at 0.6<z<0.9 and 1 galaxy at z=1.7.
These 6 galaxies, located in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey field
(GOODS-N), are star forming since they present strong 6.2, 7.7, and 11.3 um
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) lines in their Spitzer IRS mid-infrared
spectra. We use a library of templates computed with PEGASE.2 to fit their
multiwavelength photometry and derive their stellar continuum. Subtraction of
the stellar continuum enables us to detect in 5 galaxies a significant excess
in the IRAC band pass where the 3.3 um PAH is expected. We then assess if the
physical origin of the IRAC excess is due to an obscured active galactic
nucleus (AGN) or warm dust emission. For one galaxy evidence of an obscured AGN
is found, while the remaining four do not exhibit any significant AGN activity.
Possible contamination by warm dust continuum of unknown origin as found in the
Galactic diffuse emission is discussed. The properties of such a continuum
would have to be different from the local Universe to explain the measured IRAC
excess, but we cannot definitively rule out this possibility until its origin
is understood. Assuming that the IRAC excess is dominated by the 3.3 um PAH
feature, we find good agreement with the observed 11.3 um PAH line flux arising
from the same C-H bending and stretching modes, consistent with model
expectations. Finally, the IRAC excess appears to be correlated with the
star-formation rate in the galaxies. Hence it could provide a powerful
diagnostic for measuring dusty star formation in z>3 galaxies once the
mid-infrared spectroscopic capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope
become available.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Ap
Finding the elusive and causative autoantibody: An atypical case of autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111227/1/ccr3203.pd
Molecular Emission Line Formation in Prestellar Cores
We investigate general aspects of molecular line formation under conditions
which are typical of prestellar cores. Focusing on simple linear molecules, we
study formation of their rotational lines by radiative transfer simulations. We
present a thermalization diagram to show the effects of collisions and
radiation on the level excitation. We construct a detailed scheme (contribution
chart) to illustrate the formation of emission line profiles. This chart can be
used as an efficient tool to identify which parts of the cloud contribute to a
specific line profile. We show how molecular line characteristics for uniform
model clouds depend on hydrogen density, molecular column density, and kinetic
temperature. The results are presented in a 2D plane to illustrate cooperative
effects of the physical factors. We also use a core model with a non-uniform
density distribution and chemical stratification to study the effects of cloud
contraction and rotation on spectral line maps. We discuss the main issues that
should be taken into account when dealing with interpretation and simulation of
observed molecular lines.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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