Testing a double AGN hypothesis for Mrk 273

The ULIRG Mrk 273 contains two infrared nuclei, N and SW, separated by 1 arcsec. A Chandra observation has identified the SW nucleus as an absorbed X-ray source with nH ~4e23 cm-2 but also hinted at the possible presence of a Compton thick AGN in the N nucleus, where a black hole of 10^9 Msun is inferred from the ionized gas kinematics. The intrinsic X-ray spectral slope recently measured by NuSTAR is unusually hard (photon index of ~1.3) for a Seyfert nucleus, for which we seek an alternative explanation. We hypothesise a strongly absorbed X-ray source in N, of which X-ray emission rises steeply above 10 keV, in addition to the known X-ray source in SW, and test it against the NuSTAR data, assuming the standard spectral slope (photon index of 1.9). This double X-ray source model gives a good explanation of the hard continuum spectrum, the deep Fe K absorption edge, and the strong Fe K line observed in this ULIRG, without invoking the unusual spectral slope required for a single source interpretation. The putative X-ray source in N is found to be absorbed by nH = 1.4(+0.7/-0.4)e24 cm-2. The estimated 2-10 keV luminosity of the N source is 1.3e43 erg/s, about a factor of 2 larger than that of SW during the NuSTAR observation. Uncorrelated variability above and below 10 keV between the Suzaku and NuSTAR observations appears to support the double source interpretation. Variability in spectral hardness and Fe K line flux between the previous X-ray observations is also consistent with this picture.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Sustainable finance and governance: an overview

Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). We are currently facing great challenges around balancing environmental and social issues with economic development. This article provides an overview and insight into these challenges from a Finance perspective. It then introduces contemporary research that address specific points of interest

Observational study of the effects of age, diabetes mellitus, cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease on sublingual microvascular flow.

BACKGROUND: Sidestream dark field (SDF) imaging has been used to demonstrate microcirculatory abnormalities in a variety of critical illnesses. The microcirculation is also affected by advancing age and chronic comorbidities. However, the effect of these conditions on SDF microcirculatory parameters has not been well described. METHODS: SDF images were obtained from five groups of 20 participants: healthy volunteers under the age of 25, healthy volunteers over the age of 55, and clinic patients over the age of 55 with one of diabetes mellitus, cirrhosis and stage 5 chronic kidney disease. Microcirculatory parameters between the groups were then compared for significance using analysis of variance for parametric and the Kruskal-Wallis test for non-parametric data. RESULTS: Median microvascular flow index was 2.85 (interquartile range 2.75 to 3.0) for participants aged 55, 2.88 (2.75 to 3.0) for those with diabetes mellitus, 3.0 (2.83 to 3.0) for those with cirrhosis and 3.0 (2.78 to 3.0) for those with chronic kidney disease (P for difference between groups = 0.14). Similarly, there were no significant differences in the proportion of perfused vessels and perfused vessel density between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Older age, diabetes, and chronic kidney and liver disease need not be considered confounding factors for comparison of SDF microcirculatory parameters in the critically ill

Short-Term Toxicological Evaluation of AnacardiumOccidentale Oil in Albino Rats

Anacardium occidentale L. nut oil was characterized after which 5% of it was incorporated in the feed formulation for albino rats. Two diets were formulated; one of these diets had 5 % A. occidentale oil (test diet) while the other had 5% of groundnut oil as a representative of conventional edible oil (control diet).  Proximate analysis result indicated that the nut comprises of 5.82 ± 0.16% moisture, 25.54 ± 0.25% protein, 6.28 ± 0.02% crude fibre, 42.52 ± 0.45% fat, 2.90 ± 0.09% ash and 16.97 ± 0.84% carbohydrate.  A. occidentale nut was found to be rich in potassium and magnesium.  Physicochemical analysis of cashew nut oil gave 22.03 ± 0.04 mgKOH/g acid value, 22.03 ± 0.40 g/100g iodine value, 1.96 ± 0.23 mgKOH/g free fatty acid, 97.98 ± 0.99 mgKOH/g saponification value, 2.96 ± 0.59 peroxide value and 1.64 ± 0.02 refractive index.  Fatty acid analysis of A. occidentale nut oil showed that it has high level of unsaturation (77.5754%).  This is evident from the values obtained for oleic acid (61.02%), linoleic acid (15.34%) and linolenic acid (0.13%). There was weight gain by the rats during the feeding period of eight weeks and no mortality was recorded. Haematological and biochemical parameters were investigated for in the test and control rats and the results obtained revealed no adverse effect on the rats’ blood.  The cholesterol level in the test and control rat tissues was not significantly different at p<0.05.  The result of the histopathology of some of  the rat tissues showed no visible lesion.  A. occidentale nut oil might be suitable for edible purposes. Key words:A. occidentale, fatty acid, proximate composition, toxicolog

Optical investigation of thermoelectric topological crystalline insulator Pb0.77_{0.77}Sn0.23_{0.23}Se

Pb$_{0.77}$Sn$_{0.23}$Se is a novel alloy of two promising thermoelectric materials PbSe and SnSe that exhibits a temperature dependent band inversion below 300 K. Recent work has shown that this band inversion also coincides with a trivial to nontrivial topological phase transition. To understand how the properties critical to thermoelectric efficiency are affected by the band inversion, we measured the broadband optical response of Pb$_{0.77}$Sn$_{0.23}$Se as a function of temperature. We find clear optical evidence of the band inversion at $160\pm15$ K, and use the extended Drude model to accurately determine a $T^{3/2}$ dependence of the bulk carrier lifetime, associated with electron-acoustic phonon scattering. Due to the high bulk carrier doping level, no discriminating signatures of the topological surface states are found, although their presence cannot be excluded from our data.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Levantamento preliminar da entomofauna associada às plantas daninhas em cultivos de soja.

O manejo e o controle de ácaros, insetos e plantas daninhas fazem parte do sistema de produção de qualquer cultivo agrícola, sendo fundamental conhecer suas práticas e ferramentas para alcançar produtividades satisfatórias, sem agredir o ambiente. O trabalho teve como objetivo identificar os artrópodes presentes nas plantas daninhas que ocorrem em cultivos de soja.Autoria: QUERINO, [i.e. SILVA], R. B. Q. da. RANYSE BARBOSA QUERINO DA SILVA

Changes in temperature of heel skin under pressure in hip surgery patients

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to examine the effect of external pressure of the bed surface on heel skin temperature in adults in the first 3 days after hip surgery. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental study in a prospective, within-subjects, repeated-measures design. SETTING: This study was performed at 2 acute-care hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen subjects (9 men and 9 women) with a mean age of 58.3 (±16.1) years were recruited after hip surgery at the 2 hospitals. METHODS: Temperature sensors were placed on the plantar surface of each foot, close to the heels. Measures were taken when the heels were (1) suspended above the bed surface for 20 minutes (preload), (2) on the bed surface for 15 minutes (loading), and (3) suspended again above the bed surface for 15 minutes (unloading). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Heel skin temperature and demographic data. RESULTS: Heel temperature increased during loading and unloading in both legs on postoperative days 1 (P = .003) and 3 (P = .04) but not on postoperative day 2. Heel temperature in the nonoperative leg decreased in the first 3 minutes of unloading on postoperative days 2 (P = .02) and 3 (P .01). CONCLUSION: Heel temperature increased with loading and unloading on postoperative days 1 and 3. Upon immediate unloading, hyperemic response was present only in the nonoperative leg. Keeping the heels off the bed surface at all times may avoid heel skin temperature changes and prevent tissue damage. Further research is needed to identify the mechanisms that explain the effect of external pressure on heel temperature

Caracterização da comunidade de plantas daninhas em áreas de plantio de feijão-caupi, Teresina, Piauí.

O conhecimento de plantas daninhas em cultivos é essencial para o seu manejo adequado, sendo que a sua presença pode acarretar grandes problemas para a produção agrícola. O trabalho objetivou realizar o levantamento florístico sistemático de plantas daninhas em áreas experimentais de cultivo de feijão-caupi, no município de Teresina-PI (Embrapa Meio-Norte) durante o ano de 2011.Autoria: QUERINO [i.e. SILVA], R. B. Q. da. RANYSE BARBOSA QUERINO DA SILVA