The Ionizing Stars of the Galactic Ultra-Compact HII Region G45.45+0.06

Using the NIFS near-infrared integral-field spectrograph behind the facility adaptive optics module, ALTAIR, on Gemini North, we have identified several massive O-type stars that are responsible for the ionization of the Galactic Ultra-Compact HII region G45.45+0.06. The sources ``m'' and ``n'' from the imaging study of Feldt et a. 1998 are classified as hot, massive O-type stars based on their K-band spectra. Other bright point sources show red and/or nebular spectra and one appears to have cool star features that we suggest are due to a young, low-mass pre-main sequence component. Still two other embedded sources (``k'' and ``o'' from Feldt et al.) exhibit CO bandhead emission that may arise in circumstellar disks which are possibly still accreting. Finally, nebular lines previously identified only in higher excitation planetary nebulae and associated with KrIII and SeIV ions are detected in G45.45+0.06.Comment: Latex, 28 pages, 10 figure

Dynamics of Bulk and Adsorbed Poly(Vinyl Acetate)

We have recently completed a series of experiments on methyl-labeled poly(vinyl acetate)-d3, (PVAc-d3)1 and poly(methyl acrylate)-d3 (PMA-d3).234 the systems have been studied as a function of the adsorbed amount, molecular weight, and presence of a protonated overlayer. Using deuterium line shape analysis, we have found that around the glass transition temperature, the adsorbed polymers show the presence of a motional gradient. Polymer segments near the silica-polymer interface have less mobility than the bulk polymer and those near the polymer-air interface are more mobile than those of the bulk polymer. A schematic representation of the motional gradient is shown in Figure 1. In the present work, we report the results of 2-dimensional deuterium NMR exchange (2dX) experiments on PVAc-d3 in bulk and adsorbed on silica. The results of these experiments can be used to identify the dynamics of the adsorbed polymer so that the nature of the motional gradient can be identified. We find that the dynamics of the adsorbed polymer around the glass transition can be described by a bimodal distribution of reorientation times

Dynamics of Poly(Vinyl Acetate)-d₃ on Silica

Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) is an important polymer in applications because of both its bulk and surface characteristics. Its chain architecture gives it a low Tg and, generally, good qualities for processing and applications, which include paints, adhesives, thin films and surface coatings. In this study, we investigate the surface dynamics of PVAc absorbed onto silica with deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (2H NMR). For dynamics studies, 2H NMR is an excellent technique because it uses an innocuous probe that can report on correlation times (τc) from approximately 10-8 s to 10 s. We report the use of two-dimensional exchange NMR (2D-X) and a side-chain methyl-d3 probe to investigate surface dynamics with τ c s in the range of 10-6 to over 1 s

Solid-State Deuterium Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of the Methyl Dynamics of Poly(Alpha-methylstyrene) and Polymethylphenylsilane

The methyl-d3 dynamics of two relatively similar polymers, poly(alpha-methylstyrene) (PAMS-d3) and polymethylphenylsilane (PMPS-d3), are investigated via deuterium NMR relaxation experiments. Our analysis of the relaxation data uses the entire solid-echo spectra to maximize the precision of the experiments with regard to the information available on the methyl dynamics. The analysis is novel in that it does not use M[infinity] or M0 to fit the relaxation data. Additionally, the three-site symmetric jump model is shown to not have an observable azimuthal angular dependence for T1 relaxation. The methyl dynamics are quantified with taum, sigma, and f which are the log-average correlation time, half-height full-width (base 10) of a log-normal distribution of reorientation rates, and the anisotropy of the relaxation, respectively. The anisotropy parameter, f, is based on a serial combination of the rotational diffusion and symmetric three-site jump reorientation of a methyl deuteron. This serial model coupled with a distribution of tauc\u27s has a minimal number of parameters that have physical meaning and quantify the observations of our relaxation data. Generally, at similar temperatures the methyl reorientation in PAMS-d3 is at least 100 times slower than that of PMPS-d3. For both polymers, both taum and sigma decrease with increasing temperature, resulting in activation energies of 12 and 5 kJ/mol for PAMS-d3 and PMPS-d3, respectively. Also, with increasing temperature a mechanistic change from three-site jump to rotational diffusion is observed and quantified. This information, along with that of other studies, suggests that the PAMS-d3 methyls have highly restrictive environments that may be closely coupled to phenyl-ring reorientation

Low prevalence of hepatitis C co-infection in recently HIV-infected minority men who have sex with men in Los Angeles: a cross-sectional study.

BackgroundGeographic and sociodemographic characterization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) has been limited. Our aim was to characterize HCV prevalence, risk factors for HCV co-infection, and patterns of HIV and HCV co-transmission and transmitted drug resistance mutations (DRMs) in newly HIV-diagnosed Los Angeles MSM.MethodsViral RNA was extracted from stored plasma samples from a Los Angeles cohort of newly diagnosed HIV-infected MSM with well-characterized substance use and sexual behavioral characteristics via computer-assisted self-interviewing surveys. Samples were screened for HCV by qPCR. HCV E1, E2, core, NS3 protease and NS5B polymerase and HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase regions were amplified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis was used to determine relatedness of HCV and HIV-1 isolates within the cohort and viral sequences were examined for DRMs.ResultsOf 185 newly HIV-diagnosed MSM, the majority (65%) were of minority race/ethnicity and recently infected (57.8%), with median age of 28.3 years. A minority (6.6%) reported injection drug use (IDU), whereas 96 (52.8%) reported recent substance use, primarily cannabis or stimulant use. High risk sexual behaviors included 132 (74.6%) with unprotected receptive anal intercourse, 60 (33.3%) with group sex, and 10 (5.7%) with fisting. Forty-five (24.3%) had acute gonorrhea or chlamydia infection. Only 3 (1.6%) subjects had detectable HCV RNA. Amongst these subjects, HIV and HCV isolates were unrelated by phylogenetic analysis and none possessed clinically relevant NS3 or NS5B HCV DRMs.ConclusionsPrevalence of HCV co-infection was low and there was no evidence of HIV-HCV co-transmission in this cohort of relatively young, predominantly minority, newly HIV-diagnosed MSM, most with early HIV infection, with high rates of high risk sexual behaviors, STI, and non-IDU. The low HCV prevalence in a group with high-risk behaviors for non-IDU HCV acquisition suggests an opportune time for targeted HCV prevention measures

High Spatial Resolution Spectroscopy of W51 IRS2E and IRS2W: Two Very Massive Young Stars in Early Formation Stages

We present $K$-band spectra of the near infrared counterparts to IRS2E and IRS2W which is associated with the ultracompact HII region W51d, both of them embedded sources in the Galactic compact HII region W51 IRS2. The high spatial resolution observations were obtained with the laser guide star facility and Near infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) mounted at the Gemini North observatory. The spectrum of the ionizing source of W51d shows the photospheric features NIII (21155 \AA) in emission and HeII (21897 \AA) in absorption which lead us to classify it as an young O3 type star. We detected CO overtone in emission at 23000 \AA in the spectrum of IRS2E, suggesting that it is a massive young object still surrounded by an accretion disc, probably transitioning from the hot core phase to an ultracompact HII region.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letter