Two-micron spectrophotometry of the galaxy NGC 253

A very strong Brackett-gamma hydrogen emission line, and the 2.3 micron CO stellar absorption feature were measured in NGC 253. The presence and strength of the CO feature indicates that late type giant stars produce most of the 2.2 micron continuum emission, while the rate of ionization implied by strength of the Brackett-gamma line indicates that much, perhaps all, of the luminosity detected at far infrared wavelengths originates from a large number of OB stars. As compared to the corresponding region of the Galaxy, the number of massive young stars in the central 200 pc of NGC 253 is thirty times greater, but the total mass of stars is roughly the same

Two-micron line emission from the H II region G 333.6 – 0.2

Spectrophotometry of the H II region G333.6 – 0.2 with λ/Δλ≏100 shows strong emission lines of hydrogen and helium super-imposed on a continuum. Spatial variations in the equivalent widths of the lines suggest the presence of very hot (⁠⩾600K⁠) dust grains within the region. The shape of this very powerful H II region indicates that its dense ionized core is being continuously replenished from a reservoir of neutral gas

Two-micron line emission from the H II region G 333.6 – 0.2

Spectrophotometry of the H II region G333.6 – 0.2 with λ/Δλ≏100 shows strong emission lines of hydrogen and helium super-imposed on a continuum. Spatial variations in the equivalent widths of the lines suggest the presence of very hot (⁠⩾600K⁠) dust grains within the region. The shape of this very powerful H II region indicates that its dense ionized core is being continuously replenished from a reservoir of neutral gas

The effectiveness of using the workplace to identify and address modifiable health risk factors in deprived populations

Objectives To establish whether a programme of targeted health screening, with referral to appropriate interventions, offered to an employed but socioeconomically deprived group was effective in overcoming barriers to uptake of such services and improving a range of surrogate health markers for participants. Methods Low-paid local government employees from socially and economically deprived areas in North-East England were invited to attend a free health check. Health checks were conducted within working hours and close to their worksite, and included assessment of a range of lifestyle and health-related risk factors, including those associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). A range of additional interventions were offered where indicated. Participants were invited to repeat screening approximately 9 months later. Results 635 (20% response rate) employees in the target age group (≥40 years) attended the first check. Most health risk markers improved in those (N=427) attending both health checks, as did the mean CVD risk score (t=2.86, p=0.004). 269 referrals were made to the intervention programmes. Conclusions This workplace programme had a positive impact on cardiovascular health, but attendance rates were low. These findings suggest that workplace health screening activities may have the potential to improve health in a group often considered hard to reach by other routes, but do not offer a straightforward solution in overcoming barriers to access for such subgroups within the working population

Assessing neural tuning for object perception in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with multivariate pattern analysis of fMRI data.

IntroductionDeficits in visual perception are well-established in schizophrenia and are linked to abnormal activity in the lateral occipital complex (LOC). Related deficits may exist in bipolar disorder. LOC contains neurons tuned to object features. It is unknown whether neural tuning in LOC or other visual areas is abnormal in patients, contributing to abnormal perception during visual tasks. This study used multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to investigate perceptual tuning for objects in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.MethodsFifty schizophrenia participants, 51 bipolar disorder participants, and 47 matched healthy controls completed five functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) runs of a perceptual task in which they viewed pictures of four different objects and an outdoor scene. We performed classification analyses designed to assess the distinctiveness of activity corresponding to perception of each stimulus in LOC (a functionally localized region of interest). We also performed similar classification analyses throughout the brain using a searchlight technique. We compared classification accuracy and patterns of classification errors across groups.ResultsStimulus classification accuracy was significantly above chance in all groups in LOC and throughout visual cortex. Classification errors were mostly within-category confusions (e.g., misclassifying one chair as another chair). There were no group differences in classification accuracy or patterns of confusion.ConclusionsThe results show for the first time MVPA can be used successfully to classify individual perceptual stimuli in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. However, the results do not provide evidence of abnormal neural tuning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Infrared studies of H II regions and dust clouds near K3 - 50

New ground-based infrared observations of the K3–50 region are reported at wavelengths between 2 and 34 μm, and at 1 mm. The main results are (a) that the visible nebula K3–50 is displaced from its infrared and radio counterparts, (b) that component C1 (the OH source ON-3) appears very faint at λ ⩽ 20μm⁠, and is therefore probably obscured by several hundred magnitudes of visual extinction, (c) that both K3–50 and component Care associated with separate condensations of molecular hydrogen, each of about 3000 M⊙, and (d) there are no strong sources in this region at 20 μm other than those associated with H II condensations

Infrared emission and star formation in the central regions of the galaxy IC 342

The face-on Scd galaxy IC 342 has been studied at infrared wavelengths between 1.2 μm and 250 μm and at centimeter radio wavelengths. At 10 μm the nucleus is bright and extended on a scale of 200 pc, with a double structure unlike that of the stars seen at 2 μm. The infrared emission between 8 and 250 μm probably arises from heated dust grains in star formation regions in the disk of the galaxy. The radio emission comes from a region with many of the same spatial features as the 10 μm source; it appears to include both thermal and nonthermal sources. IC 342 is intermediate in luminosity between the Galaxy and NGC 253; the difference can probably be accounted for by a difference in the current rate of star formation at their centers

Infrared studies of H II regions and dust clouds near K3 - 50

New ground-based infrared observations of the K3–50 region are reported at wavelengths between 2 and 34 μm, and at 1 mm. The main results are (a) that the visible nebula K3–50 is displaced from its infrared and radio counterparts, (b) that component C1 (the OH source ON-3) appears very faint at λ ⩽ 20μm⁠, and is therefore probably obscured by several hundred magnitudes of visual extinction, (c) that both K3–50 and component Care associated with separate condensations of molecular hydrogen, each of about 3000 M⊙, and (d) there are no strong sources in this region at 20 μm other than those associated with H II condensations

The accretion flow in the discless intermediate polar V2400 Ophiuchi

RXTE observations confirm that the X-ray lightcurve of V2400 Oph is pulsed at the beat cycle, as expected in a discless intermediate polar. There are no X-ray modulations at the orbital or spin cycles, but optical line profiles vary with all three cycles. We construct a model for line-profile variations in a discless accretor, based on the idea that the accretion stream flips from one magnetic pole to the other, and show that this accounts for the observed behaviour over the spin and beat cycles. The minimal variability over the orbital cycle implies that 1) V2400 Oph is at an inclination of only ~10 deg, and 2) much of the accretion flow is not in a coherent stream, but is circling the white dwarf, possibly as a ring of denser, diamagnetic blobs. We discuss the light this sheds on disc formation in intermediate polars.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, To appear in MNRAS, includes low-res figures to reduce siz