Spectral Index of the Diffuse Radio Background Measured From 100 to 200 MHz

The mean absolute brightness temperature of the diffuse radio background was measured as a function of frequency in a continuous band between 100 and 200 MHz over an effective solid angle of ~pi str at high Galactic latitude. A spectral brightness temperature index of beta = 2.5 +/- 0.1 (alpha_s = 0.5) was derived from the observations, where the error limits are 3-sigma and include estimates of the instrumental systematics. Zenith drift scans with central declinations of -26.5 degrees and spanning right ascensions 0 to 10 hours yielded little variation in the mean spectral index. The mean absolute brightness temperature at 150 MHz was found to reach a minimum of T = 237 +/- 10 K at a right ascension of 2.5 hours. Combining these measurements with those of Haslam et al. 1982 yields a spectral index of beta = 2.52 +/- 0.04 between 150 and 408 MHz.Comment: 8 pages including 7 figures and 4 tables. Accepted by A

An attempt to identify the extended synchrotron structure associated with the micro-quasar GRS 1915+105

The energy ejected from the galaxy micro-quasar GRS1915+105 in the form of jets is expected to lead to formation of an extended double lobe/hot-spot structure with the energy content comparable to an average supernova remnant. We used the Effelsberg 100m telescope at 10.45 GHz in attempt to identify such structures. For this distant galactic plane source any definite identification was not possible due to high confusion by numerous background sources, however, a few suspect structures were pointed out.Comment: LaTeX uses a new 2001 A&A macro, 4 pages, 2 figures, A&A accepte

A supernova remnant coincident with the slow X-ray pulsar AX J1845-0258

We report on Very Large Array observations in the direction of the recently-discovered slow X-ray pulsar AX J1845-0258. In the resulting images, we find a 5-arcmin shell of radio emission; the shell is linearly polarized with a non-thermal spectral index. We class this source as a previously unidentified, young (< 8000 yr), supernova remnant (SNR), G29.6+0.1, which we propose is physically associated with AX J1845-0258. The young age of G29.6+0.1 is then consistent with the interpretation that anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) are isolated, highly magnetized neutron stars ("magnetars"). Three of the six known AXPs can now be associated with SNRs; we conclude that AXPs are young (~<10 000 yr) objects, and that they are produced in at least 5% of core-collapse supernovae.Comment: 4 pages, 1 embedded EPS file, uses emulateapj.sty. Accepted to ApJ Letter

TRIS III: the diffuse galactic radio emission at δ=+42∘\delta=+42^{\circ}

We present values of temperature and spectral index of the galactic diffuse radiation measured at 600 and 820 MHz along a 24 hours right ascension circle at declination $\delta = +42^{\circ}$. They have been obtained from a subset of absolute measurements of the sky temperature made with TRIS, an experiment devoted to the measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature at decimetric-wavelengths with an angular resolution of about $20^{\circ}$. Our analysis confirms the preexisting picture of the galactic diffuse emission at decimetric wavelength and improves the accuracy of the measurable quantities. In particular, the signal coming from the halo has a spectral index in the range $2.9-3.1$ above 600 MHz, depending on the sky position. In the disk, at TRIS angular resolution, the free-free emission accounts for the 11% of the overall signal at 600 MHz and 21% at 1420 MHz. The polarized component of the galactic emission, evaluated from the survey by Brouw and Spoelstra, affects the observations at TRIS angular resolution by less than 3% at 820 MHz and less than 2% at 600 MHz. Within the uncertainties, our determination of the galactic spectral index is practically unaffected by the correction for polarization. Since the overall error budget of the sky temperatures measured by TRIS at 600 MHz, that is 66 mK(systematic)$+$18 mK (statistical), is definitely smaller than those reported in previous measurements at the same frequency, our data have been used to discuss the zero levels of the sky maps at 150, 408, 820 and 1420 MHz in literature. Concerning the 408 MHz survey, limiting our attention to the patch of sky corresponding to the region observed by TRIS, we suggest a correction of the base-level of $(+3.9\pm 0.6)$K.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Clonal kinetics and single-cell transcriptional profiling of CAR-T cells in patients undergoing CD19 CAR-T immunotherapy

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has produced remarkable anti-tumor responses in patients with B-cell malignancies. However, clonal kinetics and transcriptional programs that regulate the fate of CAR-T cells after infusion remain poorly understood. Here we perform TCRB sequencing, integration site analysis, and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to profile CD8+ CAR-T cells from infusion products (IPs) and blood of patients undergoing CD19 CAR-T immunotherapy. TCRB sequencing shows that clonal diversity of CAR-T cells is highest in the IPs and declines following infusion. We observe clones that display distinct patterns of clonal kinetics, making variable contributions to the CAR-T cell pool after infusion. Although integration site does not appear to be a key driver of clonal kinetics, scRNA-seq demonstrates that clones that expand after infusion mainly originate from infused clusters with higher expression of cytotoxicity and proliferation genes. Thus, we uncover transcriptional programs associated with CAR-T cell behavior after infusion.Published versio

It Takes a Village. Collaborative Outer Planet Missions

A mission to one or both of our local Ice Giants (Uranus and Neptune) emerged as a high priority in the most recent Planetary Science Decadal Survey and was also specifically mentioned supportively in the Heliophysics Decadal Survey. In 2016, NASA convened a science definition team to study ice giant mission concepts in more detail. Uranus and Neptune represent the last remaining planetary type in our Solar System to have a dedicated orbiting mission. The case for a Uranus mission has been made eloquently in the Decadal Surveys. Here we summarize some of the major drivers that lead to enthusiastic support for an Ice Giant mission in general, and use the example of a Uranus Mission concept to illustrate opportunities such a mission might provide for cross-division collaboration and cost-sharing

Radio spectral properties and the magnetic field of the SNR S147

(Abridged) S147 is a large faint shell-type supernova remnant (SNR). Its remarkable spectral break at cm-wavelengths is an important physical property to characterize the SNR evolution. However, the spectral break is based on radio observations with limited precision. We made new radio continuum and polarization observations of S147 at 11cm and at 6cm with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope and the Urumqi 25-m telescope, respectively. These new data were combined with published lower frequency data from the Effelsberg 100-m telescope and very high frequency data from WMAP to investigate the spectral turnover and polarization properties of S147. S147 consists of numerous filaments embedded in diffuse emission. We found that the integrated flux densities of S147 are 34.8+/-4.0 Jy at 11cm and 15.4+/-3.0Jy at 6cm. These new measurements confirm the known spectral turnover at ~1.5GHz, which can be entirely attributed to the diffuse emission component. The spectral index above the turnover is -1.35+/-0.20. The filamentary emission component has a constant spectral index over the entire wavelength range up to 40.7GHz of -0.35+/-0.15. The weak polarized emission of S147 is at the same level as the ambient diffuse Galactic polarization. The rotation measure of the eastern filamentary shell is about -70 rad/m2. The filamentary and diffuse emission components of S147 have different physical properties, which make S147 outstanding among shell type SNRs.The weak polarization of S147 at 11cm and at 6cm can be attributed to a section of the S147 shell showing a tangential magnetic field direction.Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, the resolution of some figures have been reduced. For high resolution version, see ftp://ftp.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/outgoing/p098wre/xiao-etal.pdf,revised following the language edito

Cyclic AMP metabolism and adenylate cyclase concentration in patients with advanced hepatic cirrhosis

Glucagon was tested for its effect on plasma adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP), insulin, and glucose in healthy subjects and in patients with advanced cirrhosis of the liver. In the normal subjects, intravenous infusion of glucagon caused a significant increase in plasma cyclic AMP, glucose, and insulin. In advanced cirrhotics, plasma cyclic AMP, glucose, and insulin did not increase. Adenylate cyclase concentration was measured in liver tissue from end stage cirrhotic patients and from brain-dead organ donors whose cardiovascular function was maintained in a stable state. Basal and total adenylate cyclase concentration were not different in the two groups. Adenylate cyclase from the livers of advanced cirrhotics was, however, significantly less responsive to glucagon stimulation than was that from donor livers. Hepatocytes in advanced cirrhosis have abnormal metabolic behavior characterized by abnormal adenylate cyclase-cyclic AMP response to hormonal stimulation. © 1978