31 research outputs found
Infrared dust emission in the outer disk of M51
We examine faint infrared emission features detected in Spitzer Space
Telescope images of M51, which are associated with atomic hydrogen in the outer
disk and tidal tail at R greater than R_25 (4.9', ~14 kpc at d=9.6 Mpc). The
infrared colors of these features are consistent with the colors of dust
associated with star formation in the bright disk. However, the star formation
efficiency (as a ratio of star formation rate to neutral gas mass) implied in
the outer disk is lower than that in the bright disk of M51 by an order of
magnitude, assuming a similar relationship between infrared emission and star
formation rate in the inner and outer disks.Comment: 13 pages in manuscript form, 2 figures; download PDF of manuscript
with original-resolution Figure 1 at
http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/physics/thornley/thornleym51.pd
Star Formation in Disk Galaxies. I. Formation and Evolution of Giant Molecular Clouds via Gravitational Instability and Cloud Collisions
We investigate the formation and evolution of giant molecular clouds (GMCs)
in a Milky-Way-like disk galaxy with a flat rotation curve. We perform a series
of 3D adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) numerical simulations that follow both the
global evolution on scales of ~20kpc and resolve down to scales ~<10pc with a
multiphase atomic interstellar medium (ISM). In this first study, we omit star
formation and feedback, and focus on the processes of gravitational instability
and cloud collisions and interactions. We define clouds as regions with
n_H>=100cm^-3 and track the evolution of individual clouds as they orbit
through the galaxy from their birth to their eventual destruction via merger or
via destructive collision with another cloud. After ~140Myr a large fraction of
the gas in the disk has fragmented into clouds with masses ~10^6 Msun and a
mass spectrum similar to that of Galactic GMCs. The disk settles into a quasi
steady state in which gravitational scattering of clouds keeps the disk near
the threshold of global gravitational instability. The cloud collision time is
found to be a small fraction, ~1/5, of the orbital time, and this is an
efficient mechanism to inject turbulence into the clouds. This helps to keep
clouds only moderately gravitationally bound, with virial parameters of order
unity. Many other observed GMC properties, such as mass surface density,
angular momentum, velocity dispersion, and vertical distribution, can be
accounted for in this simple model with no stellar feedback.Comment: 21 pages ApJ format, including 16 figures, accepted to Ap
Molecular hydrogen beyond the optical edge of an isolated spiral galaxy
We know little about the outermost portions of galaxies because there is
little light coming from them. We do know that in many cases atomic hydrogen
(HI) extends well beyond the optical radius \cite{Casertano91}. In the centers
of galaxies, however, molecular hydrogen (H2) usually dominates by a large
factor, raising the question of whether H2 is abundant also in the outer
regions but hitherto unseen.Here we report the detection of emission from
carbon monoxide (CO), the most abundant tracer of H2, beyond the optical radius
of the nearby galaxy NGC 4414. The molecular clouds probably formed in the
regions of relatively high HI column density and in the absence of spiral
density waves. The relative strength of the lines from the two lowest
rotational levels indicates that both the temperature and density of the H2 are
quite low compared to conditions closer to the center. The inferred surface
density of the molecular material continues the monotonic decrease from the
inner regions. We conclude that while molecular clouds can form in the outer
region of this galaxy, there is little mass associated with them.Comment: 3 Nature page
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Contrasting Roles of Islet Resident Immunoregulatory Macrophages and Dendritic Cells in Experimental Autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes
The innate immune system critically shapes diabetogenic adaptive immunity during type 1 diabetes (T1D) pathogenesis. While the role of tissue-infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages in T1D is well established, the role of their tissue-resident counterparts remains undefined. We now demonstrate that islet resident macrophages (IRMs) from non-autoimmune mice have an immunoregulatory phenotype and powerfully induce FoxP3+ Tregs in vitro. The immunoregulatory phenotype and function of IRMs is compromised by TLR4 activation in vitro. Moreover, as T1D approaches in NOD mice, the immunoregulatory phenotype of IRMs is diminished as is their relative abundance compared to immunostimulatory DCs. Our findings suggest that maintenance of IRM abundance and their immunoregulatory phenotype may constitute a novel therapeutic strategy to prevent and/or cure T1D
Neuropeptide Release Is Impaired in a Mouse Model of Fragile X Mental Retardation Syndrome
Fragile X syndrome (FXS), an inherited disorder characterized by mental retardation and autism-like behaviors, is caused by the failure to transcribe the gene for fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), a translational regulator and transporter of select mRNAs. FXS model mice (Fmr1 KO mice) exhibit impaired neuropeptide release. Release of biogenic amines does not differ between wild-type (WT) and Fmr1 KO mice. Rab3A, an mRNA cargo of FMRP involved in the recruitment of vesicles, is decreased by ∼50% in synaptoneurosomes of Fmr1 KO mice; however, the number of dense-core vesicles (DCVs) does not differ between WT and Fmr1 KO mice. Therefore, deficits associated with FXS may reflect this aberrant vesicle release, specifically involving docking and fusion of peptidergic DCVs, and may lead to defective maturation and maintenance of synaptic connections
The Space Infrared Interferometric Telescope (SPIRIT): High-resolution imaging and spectroscopy in the far-infrared
We report results of a recently-completed pre-Formulation Phase study of
SPIRIT, a candidate NASA Origins Probe mission. SPIRIT is a spatial and
spectral interferometer with an operating wavelength range 25 - 400 microns.
SPIRIT will provide sub-arcsecond resolution images and spectra with resolution
R = 3000 in a 1 arcmin field of view to accomplish three primary scientific
objectives: (1) Learn how planetary systems form from protostellar disks, and
how they acquire their inhomogeneous composition; (2) characterize the family
of extrasolar planetary systems by imaging the structure in debris disks to
understand how and where planets of different types form; and (3) learn how
high-redshift galaxies formed and merged to form the present-day population of
galaxies. Observations with SPIRIT will be complementary to those of the James
Webb Space Telescope and the ground-based Atacama Large Millimeter Array. All
three observatories could be operational contemporaneously.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in J. Adv. Space Res.
on 26 May 200
Early and empirical high-dose cryoprecipitate for hemorrhage after traumatic injury: The CRYOSTAT-2 randomized clinical trial
Critical bleeding is associated with a high mortality rate in patients with trauma. Hemorrhage is exacerbated by a complex derangement of coagulation, including an acute fibrinogen deficiency. Management is fibrinogen replacement with cryoprecipitate transfusions or fibrinogen concentrate, usually administered relatively late during hemorrhage. To assess whether survival could be improved by administering an early and empirical high dose of cryoprecipitate to all patients with trauma and bleeding that required activation of a major hemorrhage protocol. CRYOSTAT-2 was an interventional, randomized, open-label, parallel-group controlled, international, multicenter study. Patients were enrolled at 26 UK and US major trauma centers from August 2017 to November 2021. Eligible patients were injured adults requiring activation of the hospital's major hemorrhage protocol with evidence of active hemorrhage, systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg at any time, and receiving at least 1 U of a blood component transfusion. Patients were randomly assigned (in a 1:1 ratio) to receive standard care, which was the local major hemorrhage protocol (reviewed for guideline adherence), or cryoprecipitate, in which 3 pools of cryoprecipitate (6-g fibrinogen equivalent) were to be administered in addition to standard care within 90 minutes of randomization and 3 hours of injury. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at 28 days in the intention-to-treat population. Among 1604 eligible patients, 799 were randomized to the cryoprecipitate group and 805 to the standard care group. Missing primary outcome data occurred in 73 patients (principally due to withdrawal of consent) and 1531 (95%) were included in the primary analysis population. The median (IQR) age of participants was 39 (26-55) years, 1251 (79%) were men, median (IQR) Injury Severity Score was 29 (18-43), 36% had penetrating injury, and 33% had systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg at hospital arrival. All-cause 28-day mortality in the intention-to-treat population was 26.1% in the standard care group vs 25.3% in the cryoprecipitate group (odds ratio, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.75-1.23]; P = .74). There was no difference in safety outcomes or incidence of thrombotic events in the standard care vs cryoprecipitate group (12.9% vs 12.7%). Among patients with trauma and bleeding who required activation of a major hemorrhage protocol, the addition of early and empirical high-dose cryoprecipitate to standard care did not improve all cause 28-day mortality. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04704869; ISRCTN Identifier: ISRCTN14998314