An Anomalous Quiescent Stellar Mass Black Hole

We present the results of a 40 ks Chandra observation of the quiescent stellar mass black hole GS 1354-64. A total of 266 net counts are detected at the position of this system. The resulting spectrum is found to be consistent with the spectra of previously observed quiescent black holes, i.e., a power-law with a photon index of \Gamma ~ 2. The inferred luminosity in the 0.5 -- 10 keV band is found to lie in the range 0.5 - 6.5 x 10^{34} erg/s, where the uncertainty in the distance is the dominant source of this large luminosity range. Nonetheless, this luminosity is over an order of magnitude greater than that expected from the known distribution of quiescent stellar mass black hole luminosities and makes GS 1354-64 the only known stellar mass black hole to disagree with this relation. This observation suggests the possibility of significant accretion persisting in the quiescent state.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, formatted using emulateapj.cls. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Quantifying Laryngopharyngeal Reflux in Singers: Perceptual and Objective Findings

This study examines the relationship between laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) symptoms and oropharyngeal pH levels in singers. We hypothesized that reported symptoms would correlate with objective measures of pH levels from the oropharynx, including the number and total duration of reflux episodes. Twenty professional/semiprofessional singers completed the Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) and underwent oropharyngeal pH monitoring. Mild, moderate, or severe pH exposure was recorded during oropharyngeal pH monitoring. Correlations were performed to examine potential relationships between reflux symptoms and duration of LPR episodes. Symptom severity did not correlate with pH levels; however, we found a number of covariances of interest. Large sample sizes are necessary to determine if true correlations exist. Our results suggest that singers may exhibit enhanced sensitivity to LPR and may therefore manifest symptoms, even in response to subtle changes in pH. This study emphasizes the importance of sensitive and objective measures of reflux severity as well as consideration of the cumulative time of reflux exposure in addition to the number of reflux episodes

NIR Spectroscopy of Star-Forming Galaxies at z~1.4 with Subaru/FMOS: The Mass-Metallicity Relation

We present near-infrared spectroscopic observations of star-forming galaxies at z~1.4 with FMOS on the Subaru Telescope. We observed K-band selected galaxies in the SXDS/UDS fields with K10^{9.5} Msun, and expected F(Halpha)>10^{-16} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2}. 71 objects in the sample have significant detections of Halpha. For these objects, excluding possible AGNs identified from the BPT diagram, gas-phase metallicities are obtained from [NII]/Halpha line ratio. The sample is split into three stellar mass bins, and the spectra are stacked in each stellar mass bin. The mass-metallicity relation obtained at z~1.4 is located between those at z~0.8 and z~2.2. We constrain an intrinsic scatter to be ~0.1 dex or larger in the mass-metallicity relation at z~1.4; the scatter may be larger at higher redshifts. We found trends that the deviation from the mass-metallicity relation depends on the SFR and the half light radius: Galaxies with higher SFR and larger half light radii show lower metallicities at a given stellar mass. One possible scenario for the trends is the infall of pristine gas accreted from IGM or through merger events. Our data points show larger scatter than the fundamental metallicity relation (FMR) at z~0.1 and the average metallicities slightly deviate from the FMR. The compilation of the mass-metallicity relations at z~3 to z~0.1 shows that they evolve smoothly from z~3 to z~0 without changing the shape so much except for the massive part at z~0.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

Pharmacokinetics of once-daily extended-release tacrolimus tablets versus twice-daily capsules in de novo liver transplant

The pharmacokinetics of once-daily extended-release tacrolimus tablets (LCPT) in de novo liver transplantation have not been previously reported. In this phase II, randomized, open-label study, de novo liver transplant recipients were randomized to LCPT 0.07-0.13 mg/kg/day (taken once daily; n = 29) or twice-daily immediate-release tacrolimus capsules (IR-Tac) at 0.10-0.15 mg/kg/day (divided twice daily; n = 29). Subsequent doses of both drugs were adjusted to maintain tacrolimus trough concentrations of 5 to 20 ng/mL through day 90, and 5-15 ng/mL thereafter. Twenty-four-hour pharmacokinetic profiles were obtained on days 1, 7, and 14, with trough concentration and efficacy/safety monitoring through year 1. Similar proportions of patients in both groups achieved therapeutic trough concentrations on days 7 and 14 (day 7: LCPT = 78%, IR-Tac = 75%; day 14: LCPT = 86%, IR-Tac = 91%) as well as similar systemic and peak exposure. There was a robust correlation between drug concentration at time 0 and area under the concentration-time curve for both LCPT and IR-Tac (respectively, day 7: r = 0.86 and 0.79; day 14: r = 0.93 and 0.86; P \u3c .0001 for all). Dose adjustments during days 1 to 14 were frequent. Thirty-five patients completed the extended-use period. No significant differences in adverse events were seen between groups. Incidence of biopsy-proven acute rejection (LCPT = 6 and IR-Tac = 4) was similar on day 360. Between formulations, overall exposure was similar at 1 week after transplant with the characteristic delayed-release pharmacokinetic profile of LCPT demonstrated in this novel population. These data support further investigation of the safety and efficacy of LCPT in de novo liver transplantation