376 research outputs found
Investigating the barriers to the uptake of Diabetic RetinaScreen
Diabetic retinopathy is a significant complication of diabetes, and the most common cause of blindness in people under the age of 65. The National Diabetic Retinal Screening Programme (Diabetic RetinaScreen) was established to detect sight threatening retinopathies. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to determine the barriers to the uptake of Diabetic RetinaScreen, to investigate discrepancies in attendance, if any, between patients whose diabetes care is delivered in a large tertiary referral hospital out-patient setting or in general practice, and to evaluate general practitioner’s satisfaction with the service. Older age (OR 1.023, 95% CI 1.001 to 1.046) and complications of diabetes, excluding ocular complications, (OR 2.741, 95% CI 1.158 to 6.489) were associated with increased attendance at Diabetic RetinaScreen. Online referral is now available and the preferred method of referral. Efforts to encourage younger patients who do not yet have complications of diabetes may be beneficial
NACO/SAM observations of sources at the Galactic Center
Sparse aperture masking (SAM) interferometry combined with Adaptive Optics
(AO) is a technique that is uniquely suited to investigate structures near the
diffraction limit of large telescopes. The strengths of the technique are a
robust calibration of the Point Spread Function (PSF) while maintaining a
relatively high dynamic range. We used SAM+AO observations to investigate the
circumstellar environment of several bright sources with infrared excess in the
central parsec of the Galaxy. For our observations, unstable atmospheric
conditions as well as significant residuals after the background subtraction
presented serious problems for the standard approach of calibrating SAM data
via interspersed observations of reference stars. We circumvented these
difficulties by constructing a synthesized calibrator directly from sources
within the field-of-view. When observing crowded fields, this novel method can
boost the efficiency of SAM observations because it renders interspersed
calibrator observations unnecessary. Here, we presented the first NaCo/SAM
images reconstructed using this method.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, proceedings of the conference "Astrophysics at
High Angular Resolution" (AHAR-2011
A close halo of large transparent grains around extreme red giant stars
Intermediate-mass stars end their lives by ejecting the bulk of their
envelope via a slow dense wind back into the interstellar medium, to form the
next generation of stars and planets. Stellar pulsations are thought to elevate
gas to an altitude cool enough for the condensation of dust, which is then
accelerated by radiation pressure from starlight, entraining the gas and
driving the wind. However accounting for the mass loss has been a problem due
to the difficulty in observing tenuous gas and dust tens of milliarcseconds
from the star, and there is accordingly no consensus on the way sufficient
momentum is transferred from the starlight to the outflow. Here, we present
spatially-resolved, multi-wavelength observations of circumstellar dust shells
of three stars on the asymptotic giant branch of the HR diagram. When imaged in
scattered light, dust shells were found at remarkably small radii (<~ 2 stellar
radii) and with unexpectedly large grains (~300 nm radius). This proximity to
the photosphere argues for dust species that are transparent to starlight and
therefore resistant to sublimation by the intense radiation field. While
transparency usually implies insufficient radiative pressure to drive a wind,
the radiation field can accelerate these large grains via photon scattering
rather than absorption - a plausible mass-loss mechanism for lower-amplitude
pulsating stars.Comment: 13 pages, 1 table, 6 figure
IRC+10216 in Action: Present Episode of Intense Mass-Loss Reconstructed by Two-Dimensional Radiative Transfer Modeling
We present two-dimensional (2D) radiative transfer modeling of IRC+10216 at
selected moments of its evolution in 1995-2001, which correspond to three
epochs of our series of 8 near-infrared speckle images (Osterbart et al. 2000,
Weigelt et al. 2002). The high-resolution images obtained over the last 5.4
years revealed the dynamic evolution of the subarcsecond dusty environment of
IRC+10216 and our recent time-independent 2D radiative transfer modeling
reconstructed its physical properties at the single epoch of January 1997
(Men'shchikov et al. 2001). Having documented the complex changes in the
innermost bipolar shell of the carbon star, we incorporate the evolutionary
constraints into our new modeling to understand the physical reasons for the
observed changes. The new calculations imply that during the last 50 years, we
have been witnessing an episode of a steadily increasing mass loss from the
central star, from Mdot ~ 10^-5 Msun/yr to the rate of Mdot ~ 3x10^-4 Msun/yr
in 2001. The rapid increase of the mass loss of IRC+10216 and continuing
time-dependent dust formation and destruction caused the observed displacement
of the initially faint components C and D and of the bright cavity A from the
star which has almost disappeared in our images in 2001. Increasing dust
optical depths are causing strong backwarming that leads to higher temperatures
in the dust formation zone, displacing the latter outward with a velocity v_T ~
27 km/s due to the evaporation of the recently formed dust grains. This shift
of the dust density peak in the bipolar shell mimics a rapid radial expansion,
whereas the actual outflow has probably a lower speed v < v_inf ~ 15 km/s. The
model predicts that the star will remain obscured until Mdot starts to drop
back to lower values in the dust formation zone.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics, also
available at
http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.htm
Masses of Astrometrically-Discovered and Imaged Binaries: G 78-28AB and GJ 231.1BC
The Stellar Planet Survey (STEPS) is an ongoing astrometric search for giant
planets and brown dwarfs around a sample of ~30 M-dwarfs. We have discovered
several low-mass companions by measuring the motion of our target stars
relative to their reference frames. The highest mass discovery thus far is G
78-28B, a companion to the M-dwarf G 78-28A. The orbital period is 4.18 +/-
0.03 y, the system mass is 0.565 +/- 0.055 Msolar, and the semi-major axis is
2.19 +/- 0.10 AU. Imaging observations with the Keck laser guide star adaptive
optics (LGSAO) and the Palomar AO instruments resolved the system and also
yielded JHK-band delta magnitudes. We use the orbital solution, light ratios,
and mass-luminosity relationships to derive component masses of MA = 0.370 +/-
0.034 Msolar and MB = 0.195 +/- 0.021 Msolar. G 78-28B is of type M4 V based
upon its colors and mass. We also discovered GJ 231.1C, a companion to GJ
231.1B, with STEPS and imaged the companion with LGSAO and Palomar AO, but the
orbital period is longer than our observing baseline; thus the system
parameters are less constrained. In GJ 231.1BC the masses are MB = 0.25 +/-
0.06 Msolar and MC =0.12 +/- 0.02 Msolar. The inferred spectral type of GJ
231.1C is M5 V. We demonstrate the results of the current state of mass
estimation techniques with our data.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, accepted for Ap
Optical Interferometry of early-type stars with PAVO@CHARA. I. Fundamental stellar properties
We present interferometric observations of 7 main-sequence and 3 giant stars
with spectral types from B2 to F6 using the PAVO beam combiner at the CHARA
array. We have directly determined the angular diameters for these objects with
an average precision of 2.3%. We have also computed bolometric fluxes using
available photometry in the visible and infrared wavelengths, as well as
space-based ultraviolet spectroscopy. Combined with precise \textit{Hipparcos}
parallaxes, we have derived a set of fundamental stellar properties including
linear radius, luminosity and effective temperature. Fitting the latter to
computed isochrone models, we have inferred masses and ages of the stars. The
effective temperatures obtained are in good agreement (at a 3% level) with
nearly-independent temperature estimations from spectroscopy. They validate
recent sixth-order polynomial (B-V)- empirical relations
\citep{Boyajian2012a}, but suggest that a more conservative third-order
solution \citep{vanBelle2009} could adequately describe the
(V-K)- relation for main-sequence stars of spectral type A0 and
later. Finally, we have compared mass values obtained combining surface gravity
with inferred stellar radius (\textit{gravity mass}) and as a result of the
comparison of computed luminosity and temperature values with stellar
evolutionary models (\textit{isochrone mass}). The strong discrepancy between
isochrone and gravity mass obtained for one of the observed stars,
\,Lyr, suggests that determination of the stellar atmosphere parameters
should be revised.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
An analysis of spectra in the Red Rectangle nebula
This paper presents an analysis of a series of spectra in the Red Rectangle
nebula. Only the reddest part of the spectra can safely be attributed to light
from the nebula, and indicates Rayleigh scattering by the gas, in conformity
with the large angles of scattering involved and the proximity of the star. In
the blue, light from HD44179, refracted or scattered in the atmosphere,
dominates the spectra. This paper questions the reliability of ground-based
observations of extended objects in the blue.Comment: 25 figure
Sensitive visible interferometry with PAVO
The Precision Astronomical Visible Observations (PAVO) beam combiner is a new concept in visible beam combination, recently commissioned at the CHARA array. By creating spatially-modulated fringes in a pupil plane and then dispersing with an integral field unit, PAVO utilizes the full multi-r0 aperture of the CHARA array over a standard 50% (630-950nm) bandwidth. In addition, minimal optimized spatial filtering ensures calibration that is in principle as good as using single-mode fibers. We describe the design of and initial results from the PAVO instrument
Interferometric radii of bright Kepler stars with the CHARA Array: {\theta} Cygni and 16 Cygni A and B
We present the results of long-baseline optical interferometry observations
using the Precision Astronomical Visual Observations (PAVO) beam combiner at
the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array to measure the
angular sizes of three bright Kepler stars: {\theta} Cygni, and both components
of the binary system 16 Cygni. Supporting infrared observations were made with
the Michigan Infrared Combiner (MIRC) and Classic beam combiner, also at the
CHARA Array. We find limb-darkened angular diameters of 0.753+/-0.009 mas for
{\theta} Cyg, 0.539+/-0.007 mas for 16 Cyg A and 0.490+/-0.006 mas for 16 Cyg
B. The Kepler Mission has observed these stars with outstanding photometric
precision, revealing the presence of solar-like oscillations. Due to the
brightness of these stars the oscillations have exceptional signal-to-noise,
allowing for detailed study through asteroseismology, and are well constrained
by other observations. We have combined our interferometric diameters with
Hipparcos parallaxes, spectrophotometric bolometric fluxes and the
asteroseismic large frequency separation to measure linear radii ({\theta} Cyg:
1.48+/-0.02 Rsun, 16 Cyg A: 1.22+/-0.02 Rsun, 16 Cyg B: 1.12+/-0.02 Rsun),
effective temperatures ({\theta} Cyg: 6749+/-44 K, 16 Cyg A: 5839+/-42 K, 16
Cyg B: 5809+/-39 K), and masses ({\theta} Cyg: 1.37+/-0.04 Msun, 16 Cyg A:
1.07+/-0.05 Msun, 16 Cyg B: 1.05+/-0.04 Msun) for each star with very little
model dependence. The measurements presented here will provide strong
constraints for future stellar modelling efforts.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, and 5 tables, accepted for publication in Monthly
Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ
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