403 research outputs found
Aspergillus mastoiditis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
We present the case history of a patient who was severely immunocompromised due to infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and who subsequently developed acute mastoiditis due to Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal otomastoiditis is a rarely reported complication of HIV infection. A high index of suspicion is required in these patients to facilitate early diagnosis and appropriate therapy
Testing the photoionization models of powerful radio galaxies: Mixed line-emitting media in 3C 321
The photoionization models for the narrow emission line regions of powerful
radio galaxies have yet to be tested in depth. To this end, we present
high-quality long-slit spectroscopy of the powerful double-nucleus radio galaxy
3C 321. The data have good enough spatial resolution to be able to trace the
variation in emission-line properties on kpc scales. Continuum modelling and
subtraction enables the faint emission line fluxes to be measured in several
regions across the emission line nebula. We plot diagnostic line-ratio diagrams
and compare them with the predictions of various photoionization models,
finding that the data is best fit by models which assume a mixture of optically
thin and thick clouds illuminated by a power-law continuum.
The emission line kinematics, line ratios and deduced physical conditions
show remarkably little variation across the source. We deduce a mean electron
density of 400 +/- 120 cm-3 and a mean temperature of 11500 +/- 1500 K.
Assuming a single population of optically thick line-emitting clouds, we
calculate a mean photoionization parameter of (1.1 +/- 0.5) x 10e-2 and hence a
photoionizing photon luminosity of Q ~ 10e55 -- 10e56 photon/s/sr. This
indicates a central engine as luminous as that of the powerful quasar 3C 273,
yet there is no evidence for such an energetically prolific central engine at
either far-infrared or radio wavelengths. We therefore conclude that the
mixed-media models, which give Q ~ 5 x 10e53 -- 5 x 10e54, represent a more
likely scenario.
As a by-product of the continuum subtraction we infer that young stellar
populations account for ~ 0.4% of the visible stellar mass in the galaxy, and
that these populations are spatially extended.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
9286 Stars: An Agglomeration of Stellar Polarization Catalogs
This is a revision. The revisions are minor. The new version of the catalog
should be used in preference to the old. The most serious error in the older
version was that was incorrect, being sometimes far too large,
for Reiz and Franco entries; the correct values are all zero for that
reference.
We present an agglomeration of stellar polarization catalogs with results for
9286 stars. We have endeavored to eliminate errors, provide accurate
(arcsecond) positions, sensibly weight multiple observations of the same star,
and provide reasonable distances. This catalog is included as an ASCII file
(catalog.txt) in the source of this submission.Comment: The most serious error in the older version was that
was incorrect, being sometimes far too large, for Reiz and Franco entries;
the correct values are all zero for that reference. 11 pages, no figures.
Accepted for Astronomical Journal. Catalog also available as an ASCII file by
anonymous FTP from ftp://vermi.berkeley.edu/pub/polcat/p14.ou
STIS Echelle Observations of the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 4151: Physical Conditions in the Ultraviolet Absorbers
We have examined the physical conditions in intrinsic UV-absorbing gas in the
Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151, using echelle spectra obtained with the Space
Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). We confirm the presence of the kinematic
components detected in earlier GHRS observations as well as a new broad
absorption feature at a radial velocity of -1680 km/s. The UV continuum of NGC
4151 decreased by a factor of 4 over the previous two years, and we argue the
changes in the column density of the low ionization absorption lines associated
with the broad component at -490 km/s reflect the decrease in the ionizing
flux. Most of the strong absorption lines (e.g., N V, C IV, Si IV) from this
component are saturated, but show substantial residual flux in their cores,
indicating that the absorber does not fully cover the source of emission. Our
interpretation is that the unocculted light is due to scattering by free
electrons from an extended region, which reflects continuum, emission lines,
and absorption lines. We have been able to constrain the densities for the
kinematic components based on absorption lines from metastable states of C III
and Fe II, and/or the ratios of ground and fine structure lines of O I,C II,
and Si II. We have generated a set of photoionization models which match the
ionic column densities for each component during the present low flux state and
those seen in previous high flux states with the GHRS and STIS, confirming that
the absorbers are photoionized and respond to the changes in the continuum
flux. We have been able to map the relative radial positions of the absorbers,
and find that the gas decreases in density with distance. None of the UV
absorbers is of sufficiently large column density or high enough ionization
state to account for the X-ray absorption.Comment: 46 pages (Latex), 14 figures (postscript), plus a landscape table
(Latex), to appear in the Astrophysical Journa
The highly polarized open cluster Trumpler 27
We have carried out multicolor linear polarimetry (UBVRI) of the brightest
stars in the area of the open cluster Trumpler 27. Our data show a high level
of polarization in the stellar light with a considerable dispersion, from to . The polarization vectors of the cluster members appear to be
aligned. Foreground polarization was estimated from the data of some non-member
objects, for which two different components were resolved: the first one
associated with a dust cloud close to the Sun producing
and degrees, and a second component, the main source of
polarization for the cluster members, originated in another dust cloud, which
polarizes the light in the direction of degrees. From a detailed
analysis, we found that the two components have associated values for the first one, and for the other. Due the
difference in the orientation of both polarization vectors, almost 90 degrees
(180 degrees at the Stokes representation), the first cloud (
degrees) depolarize the light strongly polarized by the second one ( degrees).Comment: 12 Pages, 6 Figures, 2 tables (9 Pages), accepted for publication in
A
The origin of the Narrow Line Region of Mrk 3: an overpressured jet cocoon
We have obtained HST FOC long-slit optical spectroscopy of the Narrow Line
Region of the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 3. In the region cospatial with the
radio-jet the velocity field is highly perturbed and shows two velocity systems
separated by as much as 1700 km/s. We interpret this to be the consequence of
the rapid expansion of a cocoon of hot gas, shocked and heated by the
radio-emitting outflow, which compresses and accelerates the ambient gas. The
NLR itself is essentially a cylindrical shell expanding supersonically. From
the size and velocity of the expanding region, we derive an upper limit to the
radio-source age, ~ 2
E42 erg/s required to inflate the cocoon and estimate that the jet minimum
advance speed is 3 E-3 pc per year. The total kinetic energy of the high
velocity NLR gas can be estimated as ~6 E54 erg, comparable to the total energy
carried by the jet over its lifetime and this quantitatively supports the idea
that the NLR gas is accelerated by the jet. If the advance speed of Mrk 3 is
representative of the Seyfert population then these sources must also be short
lived and probably recurrent. The jet kinetic luminosity of Mrk 3 is between 2
and 3 orders of magnitude smaller than that derived for radio-loud AGNs with
similar emission-line luminosity. On the other hand, the fraction of jet power
dissipated in radio-emission is similar. We speculate that the main distinction
between radio-quiet and radio-loud AGN is ascribed to a difference in jet power
rather than to a different efficiency in synchrotron emission production.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Astrophysical Journal in pres
The radio core and jet in the broad absorption line quasar PG 1700+518
The blue-shifted broad absorption lines (BAL) or troughs are observed in
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) when our line of sight is intercepted by a high
speed outflow (wind), likely originating in the accretion disc. The outflow or
wind can shed light on the internal structure obscured by the AGN torus.
Recently, it has been shown that this outflow is rotating in the BAL quasar PG
1700+518, further supporting the accretion disc origin of the wind. With the
purpose of giving independent constraints on the wind geometry, we performed
high-resolution European VLBI Network (EVN) observations at 1.6 GHz in 2010.
Combining the VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) results with the Very
Large Array (VLA) archival data at 8.4 GHz, we present its jet structure on
scales of parsec (pc) to kiloparsec (kpc) for the first time. The source shows
two distinct jet features in East-West direction with a separation of around 4
kpc. The Eastern feature, which has so far been assumed to hide the core, is a
kpc-scale hot spot, which is completely resolved out in the EVN image. In the
western jet feature, we find a compact jet component, which pinpoints the
position of the central black hole in the galaxy. Jet components on both sides
of the core are additionally detected in the Northwest-Southeast direction, and
they show a symmetric morphology on scale of <1 kpc. This two-sided jet feature
is not common in the known BAL quasars and indicates that the jet axis is far
away from the line of sight. Furthermore, it is nearly parallel to the
scattering plane revealed earlier by optical polarimetry. By analogy to
polar-scattered Seyfert 1 galaxies, we conclude that the jet likely has a
viewing angle around 45 degree. The analogy is further supported by the recent
report of significant cold absorption in the soft X-rays, a nearly unique
feature to polar-scattered Seyfert galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters, 5 pages, 1 figure
The NICMOS Snapshot Survey of nearby Galaxies
We present ``snapshot'' observations with the NearInfrared Camera and
MultiObject Spectrometer (NICMOS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of
94 nearby galaxies from the Revised Shapley Ames Catalog. Images with 0.2 as
resolution were obtained in two filters, a broad-band continuum filter (F160W,
roughly equivalent to the H-band) and a narrow band filter centered on the
Paschen alpha line (F187N or F190N, depending on the galaxy redshift) with the
51x51 as field of view of the NICMOS camera 3. A first-order continuum
subtraction is performed, and the resulting line maps and integrated Paschen
alpha line fluxes are presented. A statistical analysis indicates that the
average Paschen alpha surface brightness {\bf in the central regions} is
highest in early-type (Sa-Sb) spirals.Comment: Original contained error in flux calibration. Table 1 now has correct
Paschen Alpha fluxes. 14 pages LaTeX with JPEG and PS figures. Also available
at http://icarus.stsci.edu/~boeker/publications.htm
Cochlear implantation in patients with chronic otitis media: 7 years’ experience in Maastricht
The purpose of this paper is to propose management options for cochlear implantation in chronic
otitis media (COM) based on our 7-year experience. Thirteen patients with COM who were candidates for cochlear implantation were identified. COM was divided in an inactive and an active form based on clinical and radiological findings. One major complications and one minor complication were identified in the study group. In case of an active infection or in case of a unstable cavity we advise cochlear implantation as a staged procedure. A single stage procedure is recommended in case of patients with COM presenting with a dry perforation or a stable cavity
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