8,072 research outputs found
Evaluation of the synoptic and mesoscale predictive capabilities of a mesoscale atmospheric simulation system
The overall performance characteristics of a limited area, hydrostatic, fine (52 km) mesh, primitive equation, numerical weather prediction model are determined in anticipation of satellite data assimilations with the model. The synoptic and mesoscale predictive capabilities of version 2.0 of this model, the Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System (MASS 2.0), were evaluated. The two part study is based on a sample of approximately thirty 12h and 24h forecasts of atmospheric flow patterns during spring and early summer. The synoptic scale evaluation results benchmark the performance of MASS 2.0 against that of an operational, synoptic scale weather prediction model, the Limited area Fine Mesh (LFM). The large sample allows for the calculation of statistically significant measures of forecast accuracy and the determination of systematic model errors. The synoptic scale benchmark is required before unsmoothed mesoscale forecast fields can be seriously considered
AGN All the Way Down? AGN-like Line Ratios are Common In the Lowest-Mass Isolated Quiescent Galaxies
We investigate the lowest-mass quiescent galaxies known to exist in isolated
environments (; 1.5 Mpc from a more
massive galaxy). This population may represent the lowest stellar mass galaxies
in which internal feedback quenches galaxy-wide star formation. We present
Keck/ESI long-slit spectroscopy for 27 isolated galaxies in this regime: 20
quiescent galaxies and 7 star-forming galaxies. We measure emission line
strengths as a function of radius and place galaxies on the Baldwin Phillips
Terlevich (BPT) diagram. Remarkably, 16 of 20 quiescent galaxies in our sample
host central AGN-like line ratios. Only 5 of these quiescent galaxies were
identified as AGN-like in SDSS due to lower spatial resolution and
signal-to-noise. We find that many of the quiescent galaxies in our sample have
spatially-extended emission across the non-SF regions of BPT-space. When
considering only the central 1, we identify a tight
relationship between distance from the BPT star-forming sequence and host
galaxy stellar age as traced by , such that older stellar
ages are associated with larger distances from the star-forming locus. Our
results suggest that the presence of hard ionizing radiation (AGN-like line
ratios) is intrinsically tied to the quenching of what may be the lowest-mass
self-quenched galaxies.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Ap
Mathematical Modeling of the Diffusion of Water in Wood During Drying
The drying of lumber was modeled by the diffusion of water in wood, according to Fick's second law. In the model the following assumptions were made: (1) Moisture content is the driving force; (2) the diffusion coefficient is a constant value above the fiber saturation point and one-fourth that value below the fiber saturation point; (3) equilibrium exists between the moisture content at the wood surface and the film of air adjacent to the surface; (4) moisture movement from the film to the bulk air stream occurs by film mass transfer. Five independent variables—half thickness of the board, species factor (density-diffusivity), temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity—were found to influence the drying process. This study reveals that variable interactions are important considerations when one wishes to predict drying times.Using red oak and constant values for lumber thickness and kiln air velocity, three cases were modeled to illustrate the potential for improved operation. The first case follows temperature and humidity schedules typical of current kiln operations, forming a basis for comparison. In the second case, a solar-powered kiln produces harmonic variations in temperature and relative humidity. The most favorable drying conditions occur in the late afternoon, the least favorable before dawn. Slower drying with nightly relaxation of the moisture profile may produce a board with few defects. In the final study, temperature and maximum permissible drying rate are specified, with relative humidity chosen according to the model. This case produced the most rapid drying, yet has milder moisture gradients than the base case. The results of these studies show the possibility of producing a high-quality product at low cost in a solar-powered dryer, or optimizing drying schedules to reduce drying time and increase product quality
Chemotherapeutic effect of a novel temozolomide analog on nasopharyngeal carcinoma in vitro and in vivo.
BackgroundMany patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) face poor prognosis. Due to its hidden anatomical location, the tumor is usually diagnosed quite late, and despite initially successful treatment with radiation and cisplatin, many patients will relapse and succumb to the disease. New treatment options are urgently needed. We have performed preclinical studies to evaluate the potential NPC therapeutic activity of a newly developed analog of temozolomide (TMZ), an alkylating agent that is the current chemotherapeutic standard of care for patients with malignant glioma.ResultsTMZ was covalently conjugated to the natural monoterpene perillyl alcohol (POH), creating the novel fusion compound NEO212. Its impact on two NPC cell lines was studied through colony formation assays, cell death ELISA, immunoblots, and in vivo testing in tumor-bearing mice. In vitro, NEO212 effectively triggered tumor cell death, and its potency was significantly greater than that of its individual components, TMZ or POH alone. Intriguingly, merely mixing TMZ with POH also was unable to achieve the superior potency of the conjugated compound NEO212. Treatment of NPC cells with NEO212 inactivated the chemoprotective DNA repair protein MGMT (O6-methylguanine methyltransferase), resulting in significant chemosensitization of cells to a second round of drug treatment. When tested in vivo, NEO212 reduced tumor growth in treated animals.ConclusionOur results demonstrate anticancer activity of NEO212 in preclinical NPC models, suggesting that this novel compound should be evaluated further for the treatment of patients with NPC
The origin of ultra diffuse galaxies: stellar feedback and quenching
We test if the cosmological zoom-in simulations of isolated galaxies from the
FIRE project reproduce the properties of ultra diffuse galaxies. We show that
stellar feedback-generated outflows that dynamically heat galactic stars,
together with a passively aging stellar population after imposed quenching
(from e.g. infall into a galaxy cluster), naturally reproduce the observed
population of red UDGs, without the need for high spin halos or dynamical
influence from their host cluster. We reproduce the range of surface
brightness, radius and absolute magnitude of the observed z=0 red UDGs by
quenching simulated galaxies at a range of different times. They represent a
mostly uniform population of dark matter-dominated galaxies with M_star ~1e8
Msun, low metallicity and a broad range of ages. The most massive simulated
UDGs require earliest quenching and are therefore the oldest. Our simulations
provide a good match to the central enclosed masses and the velocity
dispersions of the observed UDGs (20-50 km/s). The enclosed masses of the
simulated UDGs remain largely fixed across a broad range of quenching times
because the central regions of their dark matter halos complete their growth
early. A typical UDG forms in a dwarf halo mass range of Mh~4e10-1e11 Msun. The
most massive red UDG in our sample requires quenching at z~3 when its halo
reached Mh ~ 1e11 Msun. If it, instead, continues growing in the field, by z=0
its halo mass reaches > 5e11 Msun, comparable to the halo of an L* galaxy. If
our simulated dwarfs are not quenched, they evolve into bluer low-surface
brightness galaxies with mass-to-light ratios similar to observed field dwarfs.
While our simulation sample covers a limited range of formation histories and
halo masses, we predict that UDG is a common, and perhaps even dominant, galaxy
type around Ms~1e8 Msun, both in the field and in clusters.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures; match the MNRAS accepted versio
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