259 research outputs found
Resolving the Drivers of Algal Nutrient Limitation from Boreal to Arctic Lakes and Streams
Nutrient inputs to northern freshwaters are changing, potentially altering aquatic ecosystem functioning through effects on primary producers. Yet, while primary producer growth is sensitive to nutrient supply, it is also constrained by a suite of other factors, including light and temperature, which may play varying roles across stream and lake habitats. Here, we use bioassay results from 89 lakes and streams spanning northern boreal to Arctic Sweden to test for differences in nutrient limitation status of algal biomass along gradients in colored dissolved organic carbon (DOC), water temperature, and nutrient concentrations, and to ask whether there are distinct patterns and drivers between habitats. Single nitrogen (N) limitation or primary N-limitation with secondary phosphorus (P) limitation of algal biomass was the most common condition for streams and lakes. Average response to N-addition was a doubling in biomass; however, the degree of limitation was modulated by the distinct physical and chemical conditions in lakes versus streams and across boreal to Arctic regions. Overall, algal responses to N-addition were strongest at sites with low background concentrations of dissolved inorganic N. Low temperatures constrained biomass responses to added nutrients in lakes but had weaker effects on responses in streams. Further, DOC mediated the response of algal biomass to nutrient addition differently among lakes and streams. Stream responses were dampened at higher DOC, whereas lake responses to nutrient addition increased from low to moderate DOC but were depressed at high DOC. Our results suggest that future changes in nutrient availability, particularly N, will exert strong effects on the trophic state of northern freshwaters. However, we highlight important differences in the physical and chemical factors that shape algal responses to nutrient availability in different parts of aquatic networks, which will ultimately affect the integrated response of northern aquatic systems to ongoing environmental changes
Large Late-time Asphericities in Three Type IIP Supernovae
Type II-plateau supernovae (SNe IIP) are the results of the explosions of red
supergiants and are the most common subclass of core-collapse supernovae. Past
observations have shown that the outer layers of the ejecta of SNe IIP are
largely spherical, but the degree of asphericity increases toward the core. We
present evidence for high degrees of asphericity in the inner cores of three
recent SNe IIP (SNe 2006my, 2006ov, and 2007aa), as revealed by late-time
optical spectropolarimetry. The three objects were all selected to have very
low interstellar polarization (ISP), which minimizes the uncertainties in ISP
removal and allows us to use the continuum polarization as a tracer of
asphericity. The three objects have intrinsic continuum polarizations in the
range of 0.83-1.56% in observations taken after the end of the photometric
plateau, with the polarization dropping to almost zero at the wavelengths of
strong emission lines. Our observations of SN 2007aa at earlier times, taken on
the photometric plateau, show contrastingly smaller continuum polarizations
(~0.1%). The late-time H-alpha and [O I] line profiles of SN 2006ov provide
further evidence for asphericities in the inner ejecta. Such high core
polarizations in very ordinary core-collapse supernovae provide further
evidence that essentially all core-collapse supernova explosions are highly
aspherical, even if the outer parts of the ejecta show only small deviations
from spherical symmetry.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, minor revisions to match published version
(2010, ApJ, 713, 1363
Possible thermochemical disequilibrium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet GJ 436b
The nearby extrasolar planet GJ 436b--which has been labelled as a 'hot
Neptune'--reveals itself by the dimming of light as it crosses in front of and
behind its parent star as seen from Earth. Respectively known as the primary
transit and secondary eclipse, the former constrains the planet's radius and
mass, and the latter constrains the planet's temperature and, with measurements
at multiple wavelengths, its atmospheric composition. Previous work using
transmission spectroscopy failed to detect the 1.4-\mu m water vapour band,
leaving the planet's atmospheric composition poorly constrained. Here we report
the detection of planetary thermal emission from the dayside of GJ 436b at
multiple infrared wavelengths during the secondary eclipse. The best-fit
compositional models contain a high CO abundance and a substantial methane
(CH4) deficiency relative to thermochemical equilibrium models for the
predicted hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. Moreover, we report the presence of
some H2O and traces of CO2. Because CH4 is expected to be the dominant
carbon-bearing species, disequilibrium processes such as vertical mixing and
polymerization of methane into substances such as ethylene may be required to
explain the hot Neptune's small CH4-to-CO ratio, which is at least 10^5 times
smaller than predicted
United classification of cosmic gamma-ray bursts and their counterparts
United classification of gamma-ray bursts and their counterparts is
established on the basis of measured characteristics: photon energy E and
emission duration T. The founded interrelation between the mentioned
characteristics of events consists in that, as the energy increases, the
duration decreases (and vice versa). The given interrelation reflects the
nature of the phenomenon and forms the E-T diagram, which represents a natural
classification of all observed events in the energy range from 10E9 to 10E-6 eV
and in the corresponding interval of durations from about 10E-2 up to 10E8 s.
The proposed classification results in the consequences, which are principal
for the theory and practical study of the phenomenon.Comment: Keywords Gamma rays: burst
The prognostic contribution of clinical breast cancer subtype, age, and race among patients with breast cancer brain metastases
Brain metastases (BM) arising from Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) portend poor prognosis. TNBC is more common in premenopausal and African-American (AA) patients; both also confer poor prognosis. In a single institution cohort study, we sought to determine if inferior outcome of TN BCBM is more reflective of a higher-risk population or subtype itself
The substellar mass function in sigma Orionis. II. Optical, near-infrared and IRAC/Spitzer photometry of young cluster brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects
We investigate the mass function in the substellar domain down to a few
Jupiter masses in the young sigma Orionis open cluster (3+/-2 Ma, d =
360^+70_-60 pc). We have performed a deep IJ-band search, covering an area of
790 arcmin^2 close to the cluster centre. This survey was complemented with an
infrared follow-up in the HKs- and Spitzer 3.6-8.0 mum-bands. Using
colour-magnitude diagrams, we have selected 49 candidate cluster members in the
magnitude interval 16.1 mag < I < 23.0 mag. Accounting for flux excesses at 8.0
mum and previously known spectral features of youth, 30 objects are bona fide
cluster members. Four are first identified from our optical-near infrared data.
Eleven have most probable masses below the deuterium burning limit and are
classified as planetary-mass object candidates. The slope of the substellar
mass spectrum (Delta N / Delta M = a M^-alpha) in the mass interval 0.11 Msol M
< 0.006 Msol is alpha = +0.6+/-0.2. Any opacity mass-limit, if these objects
form via fragmentation, may lie below 0.006 Msol. The frequency of sigma
Orionis brown dwarfs with circumsubstellar discs is 47+/-15 %. The continuity
in the mass function and in the frequency of discs suggests that very low-mass
stars and substellar objects, even below the deuterium-burning mass limit, may
share the same formation mechanism.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (12/04/2007). It has not been edited
for language ye
GRB 090426: The Environment of a Rest-Frame 0.35-second Gamma-Ray Burst at Redshift z=2.609
We present the discovery of an absorption-line redshift of z = 2.609 for GRB
090426, establishing the first firm lower limit to a redshift for a gamma-ray
burst with an observed duration of <2 s. With a rest-frame burst duration of
T_90z = 0.35 s and a detailed examination of the peak energy of the event, we
suggest that this is likely (at >90% confidence) a member of the short/hard
phenomenological class of GRBs. From analysis of the optical-afterglow spectrum
we find that the burst originated along a very low HI column density sightline,
with N_HI < 3.2 x 10^19 cm^-2. Our GRB 090426 afterglow spectrum also appears
to have weaker low-ionisation absorption (Si II, C II) than ~95% of previous
afterglow spectra. Finally, we also report the discovery of a blue, very
luminous, star-forming putative host galaxy (~2 L*) at a small angular offset
from the location of the optical afterglow. We consider the implications of
this unique GRB in the context of burst duration classification and our
understanding of GRB progenitor scenarios.Comment: Submitted to MNRA
Maternal alcohol consumption and offspring DNA methylation: Findings from six general population-based birth cohorts
Aim: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is sometimes associated with adverse outcomes in offspring, potentially mediated by epigenetic modifications. We aimed to investigate genome-wide DNA methylation in cord blood of newborns exposed to alcohol in utero. Materials & methods: We meta-analyzed information from six population-based birth cohorts within the Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics consortium. Results: We found no strong evidence of association at either individual CpGs or across larger regions of the genome. Conclusion: Our findings suggest no association between maternal alcohol consumption and offspring cord blood DNA methylation. This is in stark contrast to the multiple strong associations previous studies have found for maternal smoking, which is similarly socially patterned. However, it is possible that a combination of a larger sample size, higher doses, different timings of exposure, exploration of a different tissue and a more global assessment of genomic DNA methylation might show evidence of association
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