Star formation activity in the southern Galactic HII region G351.63-1.25

The southern Galactic high mass star-forming region, G351.6-1.3, is a HII region-molecular cloud complex with a luminosity of 2.0 x 10^5 L_sun, located at a distance of 2.4 kpc. In this paper, we focus on the investigation of the associated HII region, embedded cluster and the interstellar medium in the vicinity of G351.6-1.3. We address the identification of exciting source(s) as well as the census of stellar populations. The ionised gas distribution has been mapped using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), India at three continuum frequencies: 1280, 610 and 325 MHz. The HII region shows an elongated morphology and the 1280 MHz map comprises six resolved high density regions encompassed by diffuse emission spanning 1.4 pc x 1.0 pc. The zero age main-sequence (ZAMS) spectral type of the brightest radio core is O7.5. We have carried out near-infrared observations in the JHKs bands using the SIRIUS instrument on the 1.4 m Infrared Survey Facility (IRSF) telescope. The near-infrared images reveal the presence of a cluster embedded in nebulous fan-shaped emission. The log-normal slope of the K-band luminosity function of the embedded cluster is found to be 0.27 +- 0.03 and the fraction of the near-infrared excess stars is estimated to be 43%. These indicate that the age of the cluster is consistent with 1 Myr. The champagne flow model from a flat, thin molecular cloud is used to explain the morphology of radio emission with respect to the millimetre cloud and infrared brightness.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, To be published in MNRA

Infrared study of the southern galactic star-forming regions associated with IRAS 10049-5657 and IRAS 10031-5632

We investigate the physical conditions of the interstellar medium and stellar components in the regions of the southern Galactic star-forming complexes associated with IRAS 10049-5657 and IRAS 10031-5632. These regions have been mapped simultaneously in two far-infrared bands (λeff ~150 and 210 µm), with ~1' angular resolution using the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research 1 m balloon-borne telescope. Spatial distribution of the temperature of cool dust and optical depth at 200 µm have been obtained taking advantage of the similar beams in the two bands. The HIRES processed Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) maps at 12, 25, 60, and 100 µm have been used for comparison. Using the Two Micron All Sky Survey near-infrared sources, we find the stellar populations of the embedded young clusters. A rich cluster of OB stars is seen in the IRAS 10049-5657 region. The fits to the stellar density radial profile of the cluster associated with IRAS 10049-5657 have been explored with the inverse radius profile as well as the King's profile; the cluster radius is ~2 pc. The source in the cluster closest to the IRAS peak is IRA-7, which lies above the zero-age main-sequence curve of spectral type O5 in the color-magnitude diagram. Unlike IRAS 10049-5657, a small cluster comprising a few deeply embedded sources is seen at the location of IRAS 10031-5632. Self-consistent radiative transfer modeling aimed at extracting important physical and geometrical details of the two IRAS sources shows that the best-fit models are in good agreement with the observed spectral energy distributions. The geometric details of the associated cloud and optical depths (t100) have been estimated. A uniform density distribution of dust and gas is implied for both the sources. In addition, the infrared ionic fine-structure line emission from gas has been modeled for both the regions and compared with data from the IRAS low-resolution spectrometer. For IRAS 10049-5657, the observed and modeled luminosities for most lines agree within a factor of 4 while for IRAS 10031-5632 we find a discrepancy of a factor of 100 and it is likely that some basic assumptions of the model are not valid in this case

MicroShunt versus trabeculectomy for surgical management of glaucoma: a retrospective analysis

This case-control study aims to compare the efficacy, safety, and postoperative burden of MicroShunt versus trabeculectomy. The first consecutive cohort of MicroShunt procedures (n = 101) was matched to recent historical trabeculectomy procedures (n = 101) at two London hospital trusts. Primary endpoints included changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) and glaucoma medications. Secondary outcome measures included changes in retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness, rates of complications, further theatre interventions, and the number of postoperative visits. From the baseline to Month-18, the median [interquartile range] IOP decreased from 22 [17–29] mmHg (on 4 [3–4] medications) to 15 [10–17] mmHg (on 0 [0–2] medications) and from 20 [16–28] mmHg (on 4 [3–4] medications) to 11 [10–13] mmHg (on 0 [0–0] medications) in the MicroShunt and trabeculectomy groups, respectively. IOP from Month-3 was significantly higher in the MicroShunt group (p = 0.006), with an increased number of medications from Month-12 (p = 0.024). There were greater RNFL thicknesses from Month-6 in the MicroShunt group (p = 0.005). The rates of complications were similar (p = 0.060) but with fewer interventions (p = 0.031) and postoperative visits (p = 0.001) in the MicroShunt group. Therefore, MicroShunt has inferior efficacy to trabeculectomy in lowering IOP and medications but provides a better safety profile and postoperative burden and may delay RNFL loss