Neutral gas in Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies Haro 11 and ESO 338-IG04 measured through sodium absorption

Context. The Lyman alpha emission line of galaxies is an important tool for finding galaxies at high redshift, and thus probe the structure of the early universe. However, the resonance nature of the line and its sensitivity to dust and neutral gas is still not fully understood. Aims. We present measurements of the velocity, covering fraction and optical depth of neutral gas in front of two well known local blue compact galaxies that show Lyman alpha in emission: ESO 338-IG 04 and Haro 11. We thus test observationally the hypothesis that Lyman alpha can escape through neutral gas by being Doppler shifted out of resonance. Methods. We present integral field spectroscopy from the GIRAFFE/Argus spectrograph at VLT/FLAMES in Paranal, Chile. The excellent wavelength resolution allows us to accurately measure the velocity of the ionized and neutral gas through the H-alpha emission and Na D absorption, which traces the ionized medium and cold interstellar gas, respectively. We also present independent measurements with the VLT/X-shooter spectrograph which confirm our results. Results. For ESO 338-IG04, we measure no significant shift of neutral gas. The best fit velocity is -15 (16) km/s. For Haro 11, we see an outflow from knot B at 44 (13) km/s and infalling gas towards knot C with 32 (12) km/s. Based on the relative strength of the Na D absorption lines, we estimate low covering fractions of neutral gas (down to 10%) in all three cases. Conclusions. The Na D absorption likely occurs in dense clumps with higher column densities than where the bulk of the Ly-alpha scattering takes place. Still, we find no strong correlation between outflowing neutral gas and a high Lyman alpha escape fraction. The Lyman alpha photons from these two galaxies are therefore likely escaping due to a low column density and/or covering fraction.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Characterization of goethites from surficial environments of Galicia and estimates of the substitution of Fe by Al

[Resumen] Se examinan cincuenta muestras ricas en goetita y de morfología y génesis variada (placas en sedimentos, suelos ricos en sesquióxidos, costras y menas de Fe), caracterizando su mineralogía y composición química por medio de diversas técnicas instrumentales y extractantes selectivas. Se estima el grado de sustitución isomorfa de Fe por Al mediante análisis químico y por el desplazamiento de las líneas de difracción de RX de la goetita. Por ambos métodos se obtienen resultados similares, dando porcentajes de sustitución que no sobrepasan en general el 15 O/o molar, lo que se considera un bajo grado de reemplazamiento y se explica en función de las condiciones de formación de estas concentraciones de hierro.[Abstract] Fifty samples with high goethite contents, differing in their morphology and formed in diverse environments are examined. They include ironpans, crusts, soils high in sesquioxides and iron ores. Several instrumental techniques are used for their mineralogical characterization, together with selective extractants of cristaBine and amorphous iron. The extent of the isomorphus replacement ofFe by Al in goethite is estimated by chemical analyses and by the shift ofXRD diffraction línes. Both methods give similar results, showing porcentages of substitution that not exceed in general 15 mole O/o. This can be considered a low degree of replacement and is discussed in sight of the formatíon conditions of these iron accumulations

Glycomic analysis of high density lipoprotein shows a highly sialylated particle.

Many of the functional proteins and lipids in high density lipoprotein (HDL) particles are potentially glycosylated, yet very little is known about the glycoconjugates of HDL. In this study, HDL was isolated from plasma by sequential micro-ultracentrifugation, followed by glycoprotein and glycolipid analysis. N-Glycans, glycopeptides, and gangliosides were extracted and purified followed by analysis with nano-HPLC Chip quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry and MS/MS. HDL particles were found to be highly sialylated. Most of the N-glycans (∼90%) from HDL glycoproteins were sialylated with one or two neuraminic acids (Neu5Ac). The most abundant N-glycan was a biantennary complex type glycan with two sialic acids (Hexose5HexNAc4Neu5Ac2) and was found in multiple glycoproteins using site-specific glycosylation analysis. The observed O-glycans were all sialylated, and most contained a core 1 structure with two Neu5Acs, including those that were associated with apolipoprotein CIII (ApoC-III) and fetuin A. GM3 (monosialoganglioside, NeuAc2-3Gal1-4Glc-Cer) and GD3 (disialoganglioside, NeuAc2-8NeuAc2-3Gal1-4Glc-Cer) were the major gangliosides in HDL. A 60% GM3 and 40% GD3 distribution was observed. Both GM3 and GD3 were composed of heterogeneous ceramide lipid tails, including d18:1/16:0 and d18:1/23:0. This report describes for the first time a glycomic approach for analyzing HDL, highlighting that HDL are highly sialylated particles

VIRGO: computational prediction of gene functions

Dramatic advances in sequencing technology and sophisticated experimental assays that interrogate the cell, combined with the public availability of the resulting data, herald the era of systems biology. However, the biological functions of more than 40% of the genes in sequenced genomes are unknown, posing a fundamental barrier to progress in systems biology. The large scale and diversity of available data requires the development of techniques that can automatically utilize these datasets to make quantified and robust predictions of gene function that can be experimentally verified. We present a service called the VIRtual Gene Ontology (VIRGO) that (i) constructs a functional linkage network (FLN) from gene expression and molecular interaction data, (ii) labels genes in the FLN with their functional annotations in the Gene Ontology and (iii) systematically propagates these labels across the FLN in order to precisely predict the functions of unlabelled genes. VIRGO assigns confidence estimates to predicted functions so that a biologist can prioritize predictions for further experimental study. For each prediction, VIRGO also provides an informative ‘propagation diagram’ that traces the flow of information in the FLN that led to the prediction. VIRGO is available at

Antiferromagnetic and Orbital Ordering on a Diamond Lattice Near Quantum Criticality

We present neutron scattering measurements on powder samples of the spinel FeSc2S4 that reveal a previously unobserved magnetic ordering transition occurring at 11.8(2)~K. Magnetic ordering occurs subsequent to a subtle cubic-to-tetragonal structural transition which distorts Fe coordinating sulfur tetrahedra lifting the orbital degeneracy. The application of 1~GPa hydrostatic pressure appears to destabilize this N\'eel state, reducing the transition temperature to 8.6(8)~K and redistributing magnetic spectral weight to higher energies. The relative magnitudes of ordered $\langle m \rangle^2\!=\!3.1(2)$ and fluctuating moments $\langle \delta m \rangle^2\!=\!13(1)$ show that the magnetically ordered ground state of FeSc2S4 is drastically renormalized and in proximity to criticality.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure

Aplicación de la exoscopia del cuarzo a la caracterización de diversos ambientes en Galicia

[Abstract] Only one of the studied pegmatites shows a symmetrical-zoned structure: a border zone wi th spodumene and a central zone wi th lepidolite. In the other pegmatites there not zoned structures but rather a centimetric bedding of whi te and pink zones (albite and lfpidolite). All sam plesare mineralized in Tin (about 200-1000 ppm) and Tantalum (40-70 ppmT. The geochemical study shows significant contents of Ba, Y, Zr, Rb and Cs. There is also infil tration of Li, Rb, Cs and Sn in the wall-rocks. The study of polymorphism and composi tion of the Li-micas shows the existence of two internaly, intergrown, distintic structures (1M and 2M ): The first one is Li-rich (lepidoli te) and the second is poor in Li (Li-1 -muscovite). It is shown a genetical hypothesis and a evolutionary diagram of the micas formation[Résumé] Par les microformes superficielles des arenes de quartz on peut reconstruire les caracteristiques chimiques , mechaniques et biologiques des ambiances oú elles ont evolué. Au moyen de la technique d' Exoscopie des Quartz, qui permet l'observation, au microscope electronique de balayage, de la morphologie superficielle des grains de ce mineral,on éxamine des quartz provenant de diverssoIs et sédiments de la Galice,en identifiant les caracteres phénomorphiques correspondantes a chacun de cesambiances. - Cette techique se montra particulierement utile a la reconnaissance des horizons Edaphiques aloctones et a l'interprétation de l'histoire géologique des sédiment