1,543 research outputs found
Inflating Fat Bubbles in Clusters of Galaxies by Precessing Massive Slow Jets
We conduct hydrodynamical numerical simulations and find that precessing
massive slow jets can inflate fat bubbles, i.e., more or less spherical
bubbles, that are attached to the center of clusters of galaxies. To inflate a
fat bubble the jet should precess fast. The precessing angle should be
large, or change over a large range (depending also on other parameters), where is the symmetry
axis. The constraints on the velocity and mass outflow rate are similar to
those on wide jets to inflate fat bubbles. The velocity should be v_j \sim
10^4 \kms, and the mass loss rate of the two jets should be 2 \dot M_j
\simeq 1-50 \dot M_\odot \yr^{-1} . These results, and our results from a
previous paper dealing with slow wide jets, support the claim that a large
fraction of the feedback heating in cooling flow clusters and in the processes
of galaxy formation is done by slow massive jets.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Central Nervous System Parasitosis and Neuroinflammation Ameliorated by Systemic IL-10 Administration in Trypanosoma brucei-Infected Mice
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Historical changes in the phenology of British Odonata are related to climate
Responses of biota to climate change take a number of forms including distributional shifts, behavioural changes and life history changes. This study examined an extensive set of biological records to investigate changes in the timing of life history transitions (specifically emergence) in British Odonata between 1960 and 2004. The results show that there has been a significant, consistent advance in phenology in the taxon as a whole over the period of warming that is mediated by life history traits. British odonates significantly advanced the leading edge (first quartile date) of the flight period by a mean of 1.51 ±0.060 (SEM, n=17) days per decade or 3.08±1.16 (SEM, n=17) days per degree rise in temperature when phylogeny is controlled for. This study represents the first review of changes in odonate phenology in relation to climate change. The results suggest that the damped temperature oscillations experienced by aquatic organisms compared with terrestrial organisms are sufficient to evoke phenological responses similar to those of purely terrestrial taxa
A shortcut to identifying small molecule signals that regulate behavior and development in Caenorhabditis elegans
Small molecule metabolites play important roles in Caenorhabditis elegans biology, but effective approaches for identifying their chemical structures are lacking. Recent studies revealed that a family of glycosides, the ascarosides, differentially regulate C. elegans development and behavior. Low concentrations of ascarosides attract males and thus appear to be part of the C. elegans sex pheromone, whereas higher concentrations induce developmental arrest at the dauer stage, an alternative, nonaging larval stage. The ascarosides act synergistically, which presented challenges for their identification via traditional activity-guided fractionation. As a result the chemical characterization of the dauer and male attracting pheromones remained incomplete. Here, we describe the identification of several additional pheromone components by using a recently developed NMR-spectroscopic approach, differential analysis by 2D NMR spectroscopy (DANS), which simplifies linking small molecule metabolites with their biological function. DANS-based comparison of wild-type C. elegans and a signaling-deficient mutant, daf-22, enabled identification of 3 known and 4 previously undescribed ascarosides, including a compound that features a p-aminobenzoic acid subunit. Biological testing of synthetic samples of these compounds revealed additional evidence for synergy and provided insights into structure–activity relationships. Using a combination of the three most active ascarosides allowed full reconstitution of the male-attracting activity of wild-type pheromone extract. Our results highlight the efficacy of DANS as a method for identifying small-molecule metabolites and placing them within a specific genetic context. This study further supports the hypothesis that ascarosides represent a structurally diverse set of nematode signaling molecules regulating major life history traits
The photometric properties of a vast stellar substructure in the outskirts of M33
We have surveyed sq.degrees surrounding M33 with CFHT MegaCam in the
g and i filters, as part of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey. Our
observations are deep enough to resolve the top 4mags of the red giant branch
population in this galaxy. We have previously shown that the disk of M33 is
surrounded by a large, irregular, low-surface brightness substructure. Here, we
quantify the stellar populations and structure of this feature using the PAndAS
data. We show that the stellar populations of this feature are consistent with
an old population with dex and an interquartile range in
metallicity of dex. We construct a surface brightness map of M33 that
traces this feature to mags\,arcsec. At these low surface
brightness levels, the structure extends to projected radii of kpc from
the center of M33 in both the north-west and south-east quadrants of the
galaxy. Overall, the structure has an "S-shaped" appearance that broadly aligns
with the orientation of the HI disk warp. We calculate a lower limit to the
integrated luminosity of the structure of mags, comparable to a
bright dwarf galaxy such as Fornax or AndII and slightly less than $1\$ of the
total luminosity of M33. Further, we show that there is tentative evidence for
a distortion in the distribution of young stars near the edge of the HI disk
that occurs at similar azimuth to the warp in HI. The data also hint at a
low-level, extended stellar component at larger radius that may be a M33 halo
component. We revisit studies of M33 and its stellar populations in light of
these new results, and we discuss possible formation scenarios for the vast
stellar structure. Our favored model is that of the tidal disruption of M33 in
its orbit around M31.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 17 figures. ApJ preprint forma
Ionized gas, molecules, and dust in Sh2-132
We analyze the various interstellar components of the HII region Sh2-132. The
main stellar source is the double binary system that includes the Wolf-Rayet
star WR153ab. We use radio continuum images at 408 and 1420 MHz, and HI 21cm
line data taken from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey, molecular observations
of the 12CO(1-0) line at 115 GHz from the Five College Radio Astronomy
Observatory, and available mid and far IR observations obtained with the MSX
and IRAS satellites, respectively.
Sh2-132 is composed of two shells showing radio continuum counterparts at
both frequencies. The emission is thermal in nature. The estimated rms electron
density and ionized mass of the nebula are n_e = 20 cm^{-3} and M_HII = 1500
Mo. The distribution of the CO emission shows molecular gas bordering the
ionized nebula and interacting with it. The velocities of the molecular gas is
in the range --38 to --53 km/s, similar to the velocity of the ionized gas. The
emission at 8.3 mic. reveals a ring like feature of about 15' that encircles
the bright optical regions. This emission is due to the PAHs and marks the
location of photodissociation regions.
The gas distribution in the environs of Sh2-132 can be explained in a
scenario where the massive stars in the region photodissociated, ionized, and
swept-up the dense molecular material from the parental cloud through their
strong stellar winds and intense UV photon flux.Comment: 11 figures and 5 tables, accepted in MNRA
Correlation functions in isotropic and anisotropic turbulence: the role of the symmetry group
The theory of fully developed turbulence is usually considered in an
idealized homogeneous and isotropic state. Real turbulent flows exhibit the
effects of anisotropic forcing. The analysis of correlation functions and
structure functions in isotropic and anisotropic situations is facilitated and
made rational when performed in terms of the irreducible representations of the
relevant symmetry group which is the group of all rotations SO(3). In this
paper we firstly consider the needed general theory and explain why we expect
different (universal) scaling exponents in the different sectors of the
symmetry group. We exemplify the theory context of isotropic turbulence (for
third order tensorial structure functions) and in weakly anisotropic turbulence
(for the second order structure function). The utility of the resulting
expressions for the analysis of experimental data is demonstrated in the
context of high Reynolds number measurements of turbulence in the atmosphere.Comment: 35 pages, REVTEX, 1 figure, Phys. Rev. E, submitte
Real-world efficacy and safety of nivolumab in previously-treated metastatic renal cell carcinoma, and association between immune-related adverse events and survival: the Italian expanded access program
Background: The Italian Renal Cell Cancer Early Access Program was an expanded access program that allowed access to nivolumab, for patients (pts) with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) prior to regulatory approval. Methods: Pts with previously treated advanced or mRCC were eligible to receive nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks. Pts included in the analysis had received ≥1 dose of nivolumab and were monitored for drug-related adverse events (drAEs) using CTCAE v.4.0. Immune-related (ir) AEs were defined as AEs displaying a certain, likely or possible correlation with immunotherapy (cutaneous, endocrine, hepatic, gastro-intestinal and pulmonary). The association between overall survival (OS) and irAEs was assessed, and associations between variables were evaluated with a logistic regression model. Results: A total of 389 pts were enrolled between July 2015 and April 2016. Overall, the objective response rate was 23.1%. At a median follow-up of 12 months, the median progression-free survival was 4.5 months (95% CI 3.7-6.2) and the 12-month overall survival rate was 63%. Any grade and grade 3-4 drAEs were reported in 124 (32%) and 27 (7%) of pts, respectively, and there were no treatment-related deaths. Any grade irAEs occurred in 76 (20%) of patients, 8% cutaneous, 4% endocrine, 2% hepatic, 5% gastro-intestinal and 1% pulmonary. Of the 22 drAEs inducing treatment discontinuation, 10 (45%) were irAEs. Pts with drAEs had a significantly longer survival than those without drAEs (median OS 22.5 versus 16.4 months, p = 0.01). Pts with irAEs versus without irAEs had a more significant survival benefit (median OS not reached versus 16.8 months, p = 0.002), confirmed at the landmark analysis at 6 weeks. The occurrence of irAEs displayed a strong association with OS in univariable (HR 0.48, p = 0.003) and multivariable (HR 0.57, p = 0.02) analysis. Conclusions: The appearance of irAEs strongly correlates with survival benefit in a real-life population of mRCC pts treated with nivolumab
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