258 research outputs found
APM 08279+5255: an ultraluminous BAL quasar at a redshift z=3.87
We report on the discovery of a highly luminous, broad absorption line quasar
at a redshift of which is positionally coincident, within one
arcsecond, with the IRAS FSC source F08279+5255. A chance alignment of the
quasar and the IRAS source is extremely unlikely and we argue that the optical
and FIR flux are different manifestations of the same object. With an R-band
magnitude of 15.2, and an IRAS 60\mum flux of 0.51\jy, APM 08279+5255 is
(apparently) easily the most intrinsically luminous object known, with
L_{Bol}\sim5\times10^{15}L_{\odot}}. Imaging suggests that gravitational
lensing may play a role in amplifying the intrinsic properties of the system.
The optical spectrum of the quasar clearly reveals the presence of three
potential lensing galaxies, \mg absorption systems at and ,
and a \ly absorption system at . We estimate the total amplification of
the optical component to be , but, due to the larger scale of the
emitting region, would expect the infrared amplification to be significantly
less. Even making the conservative assumption that all wavelengths are
amplified by a factor 40, APM 08279+5255 still possesses a phenomenal
luminosity of \simgt 10^{14L_{\odot}}, indicating that it belongs to a small,
but significant population of high--redshift, hyperluminous objects with
copious infrared emission.Comment: 15 Pages with Four figures. Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
A Process and Outcome Evaluation of a Shelter for Homeless Young Women
To evaluate the processes and outcomes of a short-term shelter, both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered via participant observation, focus group interviews with shelter staff and residents, and individual interviews with a sample of 40 young women who had been homeless prior to using the shelter. The process evaluation showed that the shelter staff strived to utilize an empowerment philosophy in their relationships with residents, but that there were many challenges to implementing this philosophy. The outcome evaluation showed that, at a 3-month follow-up, the participants reported significant improvements in housing, income, independence, and life satisfaction, but most continued to experience poverty and a number of other difficulties. The results were discussed in terms of the implications for future research and the value and limitations of shelters for dealing with homeless youth. The need for more sustained and comprehensive program interventions and supportive social policies was underscored
Improved production of automotive parts by intensive quench processing
Intensive quenching offers enormous potential advantages to the automotive component and processdesigner, including: possible elimination of more environmentally hazardous petroleum oils and aqueouspolymer quenchants, elimination of fire hazards associated with the use of petroleum oil quenchants,reduction or elimination of cracking, the possibilities of using less expensive steels in component design,dramatic improvement in properties such as fatigue and impact strength, and reduction or eliminationof carburizing times. In this paper, an overview of intensive quench processing is provided.Various case histories illustrating the use of intensive quenching to replaceconventional quenching process is also provided
Modeling the Young Sun's Solar Wind and its Interaction with Earth's Paleomagnetosphere
We present a focused parameter study of solar wind - magnetosphere
interaction for the young Sun and Earth, Ga ago, that relies on
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations for both the solar wind and the
magnetosphere. By simulating the quiescent young Sun and its wind we are able
to propagate the MHD simulations up to Earth's magnetosphere and obtain a
physically realistic solar forcing of it. We assess how sensitive the young
solar wind is to changes in the coronal base density, sunspot placement and
magnetic field strength, dipole magnetic field strength and the Sun's rotation
period. From this analysis we obtain a range of plausible solar wind conditions
the paleomagnetosphere may have been subject to. Scaling relationships from the
literature suggest that a young Sun would have had a mass flux different from
the present Sun. We evaluate how the mass flux changes with the aforementioned
factors and determine the importance of this and several other key solar and
magnetospheric variables with respect to their impact on the
paleomagnetosphere. We vary the solar wind speed, density, interplanetary
magnetic field strength and orientation as well as Earth's dipole magnetic
field strength and tilt in a number of steady-state scenarios that are
representative of young Sun-Earth interaction. This study is done as a first
step of a more comprehensive effort towards understanding the implications of
Sun-Earth interaction for planetary atmospheric evolution.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure
A near-infrared study of AGB and red giant stars in the Leo I dSph galaxy
A near-infrared imaging study of the evolved stellar populations in the dwarf
spheroidal galaxy Leo I is presented. Based on JHK observations obtained with
the WFCAM wide-field array at the UKIRT telescope, we build a near-infrared
photometric catalogue of red giant branch (RGB) and asymptotic giant branch
(AGB) stars in Leo I over a 13.5 arcmin square area. The V-K colours of RGB
stars, obtained by combining the new data with existing optical observations,
allow us to derive a distribution of global metallicity [M/H] with average
[M/H] = -1.51 (uncorrected) or [M/H] = -1.24 +/- 0.05 (int) +/- 0.15 (syst)
after correction for the mean age of Leo I stars. This is consistent with the
results from spectroscopy once stellar ages are taken into account. Using a
near-infrared two-colour diagram, we discriminate between carbon- and
oxygen-rich AGB stars and obtain a clean separation from Milky Way foreground
stars. We reveal a concentration of C-type AGB stars relative to the red giant
stars in the inner region of the galaxy, which implies a radial gradient in the
intermediate-age (1-3 Gyr) stellar populations. The numbers and luminosities of
the observed carbon- and oxygen-rich AGB stars are compared with those
predicted by evolutionary models including the thermally-pulsing AGB phase, to
provide new constraints to the models for low-metallicity stars. We find an
excess in the predicted number of C stars fainter than the RGB tip, associated
to a paucity of brighter ones. The number of O-rich AGB stars is roughly
consistent with the models, yet their predicted luminosity function is extended
to brighter luminosity. It appears likely that the adopted evolutionary models
overestimate the C star lifetime and underestimate their K-band luminosity.Comment: MNRAS, accepte
Distant Field BHB Stars III: Identification of a probable outer halo stream at Galactocentric distance r = 70 kpc
We present VLT-FORS1 spectra of a sample of 34 faint 20.0 < g* < 21.1 A-type
stars selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release, with the
goal of measuring the velocity dispersion of blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars
in the remote Galactic halo, R~80kpc. We show that colour selection with 1.08 <
u*-g* < 1.40 and -0.2 < g*-r* < -0.04 minimises contamination of the sample by
less luminous blue stragglers. In classifying the stars we confine our
attention to the 20 stars with spectra of signal-to-noise ratio > 15 per
Angstrom. Classification produces a sample of eight BHB stars at distances
65-102 kpc from the Sun (mean 80 kpc), which represents the most distant sample
of Galactic stars with measured radial velocities. The dispersion of the
measured radial component of the velocity with respect to the centre of the
Galaxy is 58+-15km/s. This value is anomalously low in comparison with measured
values for stars at smaller distances, as well as for satellites at similar
distances. Seeking an explanation for the low measured velocity dispersion,
further analysis reveals that six of the eight remote BHB stars are plausibly
associated with a single orbit. Three previously known outer halo carbon stars
also appear to belong to this stream. The velocity dispersion of all nine stars
relative to the orbit is only 15+-4 km/s. Further observations along the orbit
are required to trace the full extent of this structure on the sky.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Identifying risks for male street gang affiliation: a systematic review and narrative synthesis
Gang violence has increased in recent years. Individuals are becoming gang affiliated younger, and many have suffered historic maltreatment. Subsequent exposure to violence can result in profound consequences, including acute psychological harm. This review aims to identify predictive risk factors for male street gang affiliation. A systematic literature search was conducted utilising PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Medline, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Social Policy and Practice databases (from the databases’ inception to 03/04/15). From this search, n=244 peer-reviewed papers were included in an initial scoping review, and n=102 thereafter met criteria for a systematic review; a narrative synthesis follows. Gang members have typically faced numerous historic adversities across multiple domains; individual, family, peers, school and community. Cumulative factors generated an independent risk. The meta-narrative described an overarching failure to safeguard vulnerable individuals, with the motivation for gang affiliation hypothetically arising from an attempt to have their basic needs met. Clinical and research recommendations were made to inform early intervention policy and practice
Effects of molecular structure on the physical, chemical, and electrical properties of ester‐based transformer insulating liquids
This article presents the experimental studies carried out on the environmental friendly polyol ester insulating liquids to investigate the effect of molecular structure on the physical, chemical, and electrical properties. Six different polyol esters that can be produced from the transesterification of various methyl esters with neopentylglycol/trimethylolpropane alcohols were synthesized and compared with those of refined, bleached, and deodorized palm oil (RBDPO) and mineral transformer oil. The finding suggests that the physical properties like fire point, pour point, and viscosity are very much affected by the molecular weight and molecular composition of the polyol esters. The electrical properties are also highly influenced by the molecular structure‐related characteristics, such as the polarity, dipole polarization, carbon chain length, and degree of branching. The results confirm the findings of previous studies that the polyol esters and RBDPO have more polarity and dipole polarization compared to mineral oil. The experimental evidence showed that the newly synthesized insulating liquids have favorable thermal and electrical properties, thus suggesting that the insulating liquids have the potential to replace conventional insulating liquids to provide a more sustainable power system in the future
LEM-3 – A LEM Domain Containing Nuclease Involved in the DNA Damage Response in C. elegans
The small nematode Caenorhabditis elegans displays a spectrum of DNA damage responses similar to humans. In order to identify new DNA damage response genes, we isolated in a forward genetic screen 14 new mutations conferring hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation. We present here our characterization of lem-3, one of the genes identified in this screen. LEM-3 contains a LEM domain and a GIY nuclease domain. We confirm that LEM-3 has DNase activity in vitro. lem-3(lf) mutants are hypersensitive to various types of DNA damage, including ionizing radiation, UV-C light and crosslinking agents. Embryos from irradiated lem-3 hermaphrodites displayed severe defects during cell division, including chromosome mis-segregation and anaphase bridges. The mitotic defects observed in irradiated lem-3 mutant embryos are similar to those found in baf-1 (barrier-to-autointegration factor) mutants. The baf-1 gene codes for an essential and highly conserved protein known to interact with the other two C. elegans LEM domain proteins, LEM-2 and EMR-1. We show that baf-1, lem-2, and emr-1 mutants are also hypersensitive to DNA damage and that loss of lem-3 sensitizes baf-1 mutants even in the absence of DNA damage. Our data suggest that BAF-1, together with the LEM domain proteins, plays an important role following DNA damage – possibly by promoting the reorganization of damaged chromatin
- …