3,213 research outputs found
A radio and infrared exploration of the Cygnus X-3 environments
To confirm, or rule out, the possible hot spot nature of two previously
detected radio sources in the vicinity of the Cygnus X-3 microquasar.
We present the results of a radio and near infrared exploration of the
several arc-minute field around the well known galactic relativistic jet source
Cygnus X-3 using the Very Large Array and the Calar Alto 3.5~m telescope.
The data this paper is based on do not presently support the hot spot
hypothesis. Instead, our new observations suggest that these sources are most
likely background or foreground objects. Actually, none of them appears to be
even barely extended as would be expected if they were part of a bow shock
structure. Our near infrared observations also include a search for extended
emission in the Bracket (2.166 m) and (2.122 m)
lines as possible tracers of shocked gas in the Cygnus X-3 surroundings. The
results were similarly negative and the corresponding upper limits are
reported.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 5 pages, 4 figure
Chandra X-ray counterpart of KS 1741-293
We aim to investigate the nature of the high energy source KS 1741-293 by
revisiting the radio and infrared associations proposed in the early 1990s. Our
work is mostly based on the analysis of modern survey and archive data,
including the NRAO, MSX, 2MASS and Chandra archives, and catalogues. We also
have obtained deep CCD optical observations by ourselves. The coincidence of KS
1741-293 with an extended radio and far-infrared source, tentatively suggested
in 1994, is no longer supported by modern observational data. Instead, a
Chandra source is the only peculiar object found to be consistent with all
high-energy error circles of KS 1741-293 and we propose it to be its most
likely X-ray counterpart. We also report the existence of a non-thermal radio
nebula in the vicinity of the KS 1741-293 position with the appearance of a
supernova remnant. The possibility of being associated to this X-ray binary is
discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Measurement driven quantum evolution
We study the problem of mapping an unknown mixed quantum state onto a known
pure state without the use of unitary transformations. This is achieved with
the help of sequential measurements of two non-commuting observables only. We
show that the overall success probability is maximized in the case of measuring
two observables whose eigenstates define mutually unbiased bases. We find that
for this optimal case the success probability quickly converges to unity as the
number of measurement processes increases and that it is almost independent of
the initial state. In particular, we show that to guarantee a success
probability close to one the number of consecutive measurements must be larger
than the dimension of the Hilbert space. We connect these results to quantum
copying, quantum deleting and entanglement generation.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur
The distribution of potential West Nile virus vectors, Culex pipiens pipiens and Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae), in Mexico City
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Culex </it>spp. mosquitoes are considered to be the most important vectors of West Nile virus (WNV) detected in at least 34 species of mosquitoes in the United States. In North America, <it>Culex pipiens pipiens, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus</it>, and <it>Culex tarsalis </it>are all competent vectors of WNV, which is considered to be enzootic in the United States and has also been detected in equines and birds in many states of Mexico and in humans in Nuevo Leon. There is potential for WNV to be introduced into Mexico City by various means including infected mosquitoes on airplanes, migrating birds, ground transportation and infected humans. Little is known of the geographic distribution of <it>Culex pipiens </it>complex mosquitoes and hybrids in Mexico City. <it>Culex pipiens pipiens </it>preferentially feed on avian hosts; <it>Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus </it>have historically been considered to prefer mammalian hosts; and hybrids of these two species could theoretically serve as bridge vectors to transmit WNV from avian hosts to humans and other mammalian hosts. In order to address the potential of WNV being introduced into Mexico City, we have determined the identity and spatial distribution of <it>Culex pipiens </it>complex mosquitoes and their hybrids.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mosquito larvae collected from 103 sites throughout Mexico City during 2004-2005 were identified as <it>Culex, Culiseta </it>or <it>Ochlerotatus </it>by morphological analysis. Within the genus <it>Culex</it>, specimens were further identified as <it>Culex tarsalis </it>or as belonging to the <it>Culex pipiens </it>complex. Members of the <it>Culex pipiens </it>complex were separated by measuring the ratio of the dorsal and ventral arms (DV/D ratio) of the male genitalia and also by using diagnostic primers designed for the <it>Ace.2 </it>gene. <it>Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus </it>was the most abundant form collected.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Important WNV vectors species, <it>Cx. p. pipiens</it>, <it>Cx. p. quinquefasciatus </it>and <it>Cx. tarsalis</it>, are all present in Mexico City. Hybrids of <it>Cx. p. pipiens </it>and <it>Cx. p. quinquefasciatus </it>were also collected and identified. The presence and abundance of these WNV competent vectors is a cause for concern. Understanding the distribution of these vectors can help improve viral surveillance activities and mosquito control efforts in Mexico City.</p
Growth Factor Binding Peptides in Poly (Ethylene Glycol) Diacrylate (PEGDA)-Based Hydrogels for an Improved Healing Response of Human Dermal Fibroblasts
Growth factors (GF) are critical cytokines in wound healing. However, the direct delivery of these biochemical cues into a wound site significantly increases the cost of wound dressings and can lead to a strong immunological response due to the introduction of a foreign source of GFs. To overcome this challenge, we designed a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel with the potential capacity to sequester autologous GFs directly from the wound site. We demonstrated that synthetic peptide sequences covalently tethered to PEGDA hydrogels physically retained human transforming growth factor beta 1 (hTGFβ1) and human vascular endothelial growth factor (hVEGF) at 3.2 and 0.6 ng/mm2, respectively. In addition, we demonstrated that retained hTGFβ1 and hVEGF enhanced human dermal fibroblasts (HDFa) average cell surface area and proliferation, respectively, and that exposure to both GFs resulted in up to 1.9-fold higher fraction of area covered relative to the control. After five days in culture, relative to the control surface, non-covalently bound hTGFβ1 significantly increased the expression of collagen type I and hTGFβ1 and downregulated vimentin and matrix metalloproteinase 1 expression. Cumulatively, the response of HDFa to hTGFβ1 aligns well with the expected response of fibroblasts during the early stages of wound healing
Estimation of the charge carrier localization length from Gaussian fluctuations in the magneto-thermopower of La_{0.6}Y_{0.1}Ca_{0.3}MnO_3
The magneto-thermoelectric power (TEP) of perovskite type
manganise oxide is found to exhibit a sharp peak
at some temperature . By approximating the true shape of the
measured magneto-TEP in the vicinity of by a linear triangle of the
form , we observe that . We adopt the electron localization scenario and
introduce a Ginzburg-Landau (GL) type theory which incorporates the two
concurrent phase transitions, viz., the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition
at the Curie point and the "metal-insulator" (M-I) transition at
. The latter is characterized by the divergence of the field-dependent
charge carrier localization length at some characteristic field
. Calculating the average and fluctuation contributions to the total
magnetization and the transport entropy related magneto-TEP
within the GL theory, we obtain a simple relationship between and the
above two critical temperatures ( and ). The observed slope
ratio is found to be governed by the competition between
the electron-spin exchange and the induced magnetic energy . The
comparison of our data with the model predictions produce ,
, , , and for the estimates of
the Curie temperature, the exchange coupling constant, the critical
magnetization, the localization length, and the free-to-localized carrier
number density ratio, respectively.Comment: 6 pages (REVTEX), 2 PS figures (epsf.sty); submitted to Phys.Rev.
Oscillatory Exchange Coupling and Positive Magnetoresistance in Epitaxial Oxide Heterostructures
Oscillations in the exchange coupling between ferromagnetic
layers with paramagnetic spacer layer
thickness has been observed in epitaxial heterostructures of the two oxides.
This behavior is explained within the RKKY model employing an {\it ab initio}
calculated band structure of , taking into account strong electron
scattering in the spacer. Antiferromagnetically coupled superlattices exhibit a
positive current-in-plane magnetoresistance.Comment: 4 pages (RevTeX), 5 figures (EPS
Dengue Virus Inhibits Immune Responses in Aedes aegypti Cells
The ability of many viruses to manipulate the host antiviral immune response often results in complex host-pathogen interactions. In order to study the interaction of dengue virus (DENV) with the Aedes aegypti immune response, we have characterized the DENV infection-responsive transcriptome of the immune-competent A. aegypti cell line Aag2. As in mosquitoes, DENV infection transcriptionally activated the cell line Toll pathway and a variety of cellular physiological systems. Most notably, however, DENV infection down-regulated the expression levels of numerous immune signaling molecules and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Functional assays showed that transcriptional induction of AMPs from the Toll and IMD pathways in response to bacterial challenge is impaired in DENV-infected cells. In addition, Escherichia coli, a Gram-negative bacteria species, grew better when co-cultured with DENV-infected cells than with uninfected cells, suggesting a decreased production of AMPs from the IMD pathway in virus-infected cells. Pre-stimulation of the cell line with Gram-positive bacteria prior to DENV infection had no effect on DENV titers, while pre-stimulation with Gram-negative bacteria resulted in an increase in DENV titers. These results indicate that DENV is capable of actively suppressing immune responses in the cells it infects, a phenomenon that may have important consequences for virus transmission and insect physiology
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