V4332 Sagittarii: A circumstellar disc obscuring the main object

V4332 Sgr experienced an outburst in 1994 whose observational characteristics in many respects resemble those of the eruption of V838 Mon in 2002. It has been proposed that these objects erupted because of a stellar-merger event. Our aim is to derive, from observational data, information on the present (10-15 yrs after the outburst) nature and structure of the object. We present and analyse a high-resolution (R = 21 000) spectrum of V4332 Sgr obtained with the Subaru Telescope in June 2009. Various components (stellar-like continuum, atomic emission lines, molecular bands in emission) in the spectrum are analysed and discussed. We also investigate a global spectral energy distribution (SED) of the object mostly derived from broadband optical and infrared photometry. The observed continuum resembles that of an M6 giant. The emission features (atomic and molecular) are most probably produced by radiative pumping. The observed strengths of the emission features strongly suggest that we only observe a small part of the radiation of the main object responsible for pumping the emission features. An infrared component seen in the observed SED, which can be roughly approximated by two blackbodies of 950 and 200 K, is 50 times brighter than the M6 stellar component seen in the optical. This further supports the idea that the main object is mostly obscured for us. The main object in V4332 Sgr, an M6 (super)giant, is surrounded by a circumstellar disc, which is seen almost edge-on so the central star is obscured. The observed M6 spectrum probably results from scattering the central star spectrum on dust grains at the outer edge of the disc.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysic

On the V-DE Construction in Mandarin Chinese

The paper proposes a novel classification and analysis of the V-DE construction in Mandarin Chinese. On this proposal, the V-DE construction is divided into two types, predicative and non-predicative. The predicative type can be further divided into entity-predicative V-DE constructions and eventuality-predicative V-DE constructions. With respect to the analysis of the V-DE construction, the paper identifies four different structures. It points out that the de-part (i.e. the part after and marked by 得-de) in most V-DE constructions is a clause with or without an overt subject. Moreover, with respect to the cases where the de-part has an overt NP that can be interpreted as the Patient argument of the verb before -de and at the same time is semantically compatible with the VP or AP in the de-part, the paper proposes that the overt NP in such cases is syntactically the subject of the de-clause and syntactically is not the direct object of V-DE or the verb before -de. Finally, when the de-part of an entity-predicative V-DE construction has an overt NP between -de and the predicate of the de-clause, the AP or VP of the de-part generally needs to be predicated of the overt NP in the de-part. This constraint, however, can be occasionally relaxed to allow for a pragmatically-inducted interpretation when both of the following conditions are met: (i) the de-part is a well-formed clause in both form and meaning and (ii) the pragmatically-induced interpretation is pragmatically plausible

Intraoperative Multispectral Fluorescence Imaging for the Detection of the Sentinel Lymph Node in Cervical Cancer: A Novel Concept

PURPOSE: Real-time intraoperative near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging is a promising technique for lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection. The purpose of this technical feasibility pilot study was to evaluate the applicability of NIRF imaging with indocyanin green (ICG) for the detection of the SLN in cervical cancer. PROCEDURES: In ten patients with early stage cervical cancer, a mixture of patent blue and ICG was injected into the cervix uteri during surgery. Real-time color and fluorescence videos and images were acquired using a custom-made multispectral fluorescence camera system. RESULTS: Real-time fluorescence lymphatic mapping was observed in vivo in six patients; a total of nine SLNs were detected, of which one (11%) contained metastases. Ex vivo fluorescence imaging revealed the remaining fluorescent signal in 11 of 197 non-sentinel LNs (5%), of which one contained metastatic tumor tissue. None of the non-fluorescent LNs contained metastases. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that lymphatic mapping and detection of the SLN in cervical cancer using intraoperative NIRF imaging is technically feasible. However, the technique needs to be refined for full applicability in cervical cancer in terms of sensitivity and specificity

Protein Folding Activity of the Ribosome is involved in Yeast Prion Propagation.

6AP and GA are potent inhibitors of yeast and mammalian prions and also specific inhibitors of PFAR, the protein-folding activity borne by domain V of the large rRNA of the large subunit of the ribosome. We therefore explored the link between PFAR and yeast prion [PSI(+)] using both PFAR-enriched mutants and site-directed methylation. We demonstrate that PFAR is involved in propagation and de novo formation of [PSI(+)]. PFAR and the yeast heat-shock protein Hsp104 partially compensate each other for [PSI(+)] propagation. Our data also provide insight into new functions for the ribosome in basal thermotolerance and heat-shocked protein refolding. PFAR is thus an evolutionarily conserved cell component implicated in the prion life cycle, and we propose that it could be a potential therapeutic target for human protein misfolding diseases

The limits of selflessness: semantic relativism and the epistemology of de se thoughts

The final publication is available at link.springer.com. URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-013-0262-8It has recently been proposed that the framework of semantic relativism be put to use to describe mental content, as deployed in some of the fundamental operations of the mind. This programme has inspired in particular a novel strategy of accounting for the essential egocentricity of first-personal or de se thoughts in relativist terms, with the advantage of dispensing with a notion of self-representation. This paper is a critical discussion of this strategy. While it is based on a plausible appeal to cognitive economy, the relativist theory does not fully account for the epistemic profile that distinguishes de se thinking, as some of its proponents hope to do. A deeper worry concerns the reliance of the theory on a primitive notion of "centre" that hasn't yet received enough critical attention, and is ambiguous between a thin and a rich reading. I argue that while the rich reading is required if the relativist analysis of the de se is to achieve its most ambitious aims, it also deprives the theory of much of its explanatory power

Lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy in gynecological cancers: a critical review of the literature

Although it does not have a long history of sentinel node evaluation (SLN) in female genital system cancers, there is a growing number of promising study results, despite the presence of some aspects that need to be considered and developed. It has been most commonly used in vulvar and uterine cervivcal cancer in gynecological oncology. According to these studies, almost all of which are prospective, particularly in cases where Technetium-labeled nanocolloid is used, sentinel node detection rate sensitivity and specificity has been reported to be 100%, except for a few cases. In the studies on cervical cancer, sentinel node detection rates have been reported around 80–86%, a little lower than those in vulva cancer, and negative predictive value has been reported about 99%. It is relatively new in endometrial cancer, where its detection rate varies between 50 and 80%. Studies about vulvar melanoma and vaginal cancers are generally case reports. Although it has not been supported with multicenter randomized and controlled studies including larger case series, study results reported by various centers around the world are harmonious and mutually supportive particularly in vulva cancer, and cervix cancer. Even though it does not seem possible to replace the traditional approaches in these two cancers, it is still a serious alternative for the future. We believe that it is important to increase and support the studies that will strengthen the weaknesses of the method, among which there are detection of micrometastases and increasing detection rates, and render it usable in routine clinical practice

Why the Question of Animal Consciousness Might Not Matter Very Much

According to higher-order thought accounts of phenomenal consciousness (e.g. Carruthers, 2000) it is unlikely that many non-human animals undergo phenomenally conscious experiences. Many people believe that this result would have deep and far-reaching consequences. More specifically, they believe that the absence of phenomenal consciousness from the rest of the animal kingdom must mark a radical and theoretically significant divide between ourselves and other animals, with important implications for comparative psychology. I shall argue that this belief is mistaken. Since phenomenal consciousness might be almost epiphenomenal in its functioning within human cognition, its absence in animals may signify only relatively trivial differences in cognitive architecture. Our temptation to think otherwise arises partly as a side-effect of imaginative identification with animal experiences, and partly from mistaken beliefs concerning the aspects of common-sense psychology that carry the main explanatory burden, whether applied to humans or to non-human animals