717 research outputs found
Rotation-stimulated structures in the CN and C3 comae of comet 103P/Hartley 2 around the EPOXI encounter
In late 2010 a Jupiter Family comet 103P/Hartley 2 was a subject of an
intensive world-wide investigation. On UT October 20.7 the comet approached the
Earth within only 0.12 AU, and on UT November 4.6 it was visited by NASA's
EPOXI spacecraft. We joined this international effort and organized an
observing campaign. The images of the comet were obtained through narrowband
filters using the 2-m telescope of the Rozhen National Astronomical
Observatory. They were taken during 4 nights around the moment of the EPOXI
encounter. Image processing methods and periodicity analysis techniques were
used to reveal transient coma structures and investigate their repeatability
and kinematics. We observe shells, arc-, jet- and spiral-like patterns, very
similar for the CN and C3 comae. The CN features expanded outwards with the
sky-plane projected velocities between 0.1 to 0.3 km/s. A corkscrew structure,
observed on November 6, evolved with a much higher velocity of 0.66 km/s.
Photometry of the inner coma of CN shows variability with a period of
18.32+/-0.30 h (valid for the middle moment of our run, UT 2010 Nov. 5.0835),
which we attribute to the nucleus rotation. This result is fully consistent
with independent determinations around the same time by other teams. The
pattern of repeatability is, however, not perfect, which is understendable
given the suggested excitation of the rotation state, and the variability
detected in CN correlates well with the cyclic changes in HCN, but only in the
active phases. The revealed coma structures, along with the snapshot of the
nucleus orientation obtained by EPOXI, let us estimate the spin axis
orientation. We obtained RA=122 deg, Dec=+16 deg (epoch J2000.0), neglecting at
this point the rotational excitation.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Astron. Astrophy
From cook to chef: Facilitating the transition from recipe-driven to open-ended research-based undergraduate chemistry lab activities
This paper describes the development of mini-research projects in the third year practical chemistry course at the University of Nottingham for the MSci(Hons) Chemistry degree. The aim of these developments is to bridge the gap between ‘recipe-style’ experiments in the first and second year courses and research projects undertaken in the fourth year or in industry. There is much evidence that, having been given this opportunity to plan and design their own experiment, students exhibit higher-order cognitive skills, which can lead to a more valuable learning experience
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Evidence of neutral transcriptome evolution in plants
The transcriptome of an organism is its set of gene transcripts (mRNAs) at a defined spatial and temporal locus. Because gene expression is affected markedly by
environmental and developmental perturbations, it is widely assumed that transcriptome divergence among taxa represents adaptive phenotypic selection. This assumption has been challenged by neutral theories which propose that stochastic
processes drive transcriptome evolution. To test for evidence of neutral transcriptome evolution in plants, we quantified 18 494 gene transcripts in nonsenescent leaves of 14 taxa of Brassicaceae using robust cross-species transcriptomics which includes a two-step physical and in silicobased normalization procedure based on DNA similarity among taxa. Transcriptome divergence correlates positively with evolutionary distance between taxa and with variation in gene expression among samples. Results are similar for pseudogenes and chloroplast genes evolving at different rates. Remarkably, variation in transcript abundance among root-cell samples correlates positively with
transcriptome divergence among root tissues and among taxa.
Because neutral processes affect transcriptome evolution in plants, many differences in gene expression among or within taxa may be nonfunctional, reflecting ancestral
plasticity and founder effects. Appropriate null models are required when comparing transcriptomes in space and time
Fasting plasma triacylglycerol concentrations predict adverse changes in lipoprotein metabolism after a normal meal
Motivational Interviewing Counseling to Increase Endocrine Therapy Adherence in Diverse Patients
Background: Oral endocrine therapy (ET) is an inexpensive and effective therapy for hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer that prevents recurrence but relies upon long-term adherence for up to ten years. More than 80% of breast cancer patients have an HR+ phenotype and are candidates for ET, but approximately half discontinue or become non-adherent by five years. ET underuse is more prevalent in Black and young (18 years old, English speaking, and with stage I–III HR+ breast cancer. Participants were recruited across a large academic medical center and four community sites. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed by measures of participant recruitment, retention, session participation, and patient-reported satisfaction. ET adherence at 12 months was assessed by self-report and medication event monitoring system (MEMS) caps using a continuous measure of the proportion of days covered (PDC) as well as a dichotomous measure of the optimal adherence, defined as >80% PDC. Results: Forty-two women initiated the intervention, of whom thirty-five participants (83%) completed outcome assessments at 12 months, including thirteen Black and twenty-two non-Black participants. The average participant age was 54.8 years (range: 25–73). Overall, 97% completed at least three MI sessions and 83% completed at least four sessions. Participant retention and satisfaction were high, particularly among Black women. Self-reported adherence at 12 months was 88% overall (100% in Black women and 81% in non-Black women). The majority of women also achieved 80% of days adherent using MEMS caps, with a greater adherence in Black women. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the feasibility, acceptability, and early promise of the effectiveness of an MI counseling-based intervention to promote ET adherence and prevent breast cancer recurrence in diverse populations
Molecular excitation in the Interstellar Medium: recent advances in collisional, radiative and chemical processes
We review the different excitation processes in the interstellar mediumComment: Accepted in Chem. Re
Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at TeV with the ATLAS detector
This paper presents measurements of the and cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a
function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were
collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with
the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity
of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements
varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the
1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured
with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with
predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various
parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between
them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables,
submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at
https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13
Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13 TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV
The composition of the protosolar disk and the formation conditions for comets
Conditions in the protosolar nebula have left their mark in the composition
of cometary volatiles, thought to be some of the most pristine material in the
solar system. Cometary compositions represent the end point of processing that
began in the parent molecular cloud core and continued through the collapse of
that core to form the protosun and the solar nebula, and finally during the
evolution of the solar nebula itself as the cometary bodies were accreting.
Disentangling the effects of the various epochs on the final composition of a
comet is complicated. But comets are not the only source of information about
the solar nebula. Protostellar disks around young stars similar to the protosun
provide a way of investigating the evolution of disks similar to the solar
nebula while they are in the process of evolving to form their own solar
systems. In this way we can learn about the physical and chemical conditions
under which comets formed, and about the types of dynamical processing that
shaped the solar system we see today.
This paper summarizes some recent contributions to our understanding of both
cometary volatiles and the composition, structure and evolution of protostellar
disks.Comment: To appear in Space Science Reviews. The final publication is
available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11214-015-0167-
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