3,188 research outputs found
On the Origin of the Wide HI Absorption Line Toward Sgr A*
We have imaged a region of about 5' extent surrounding Sgr A* in the HI 21
cm-line absorption using the Very Large Array. A Gaussian decomposition of the
optical depth spectra at positions within about 2' (approx. 5 pc at 8.5 kpc) of
Sgr A* detects a wide line underlying the many narrow absorption lines. The
wide line has a mean peak optical depth of 0.32 +/- 0.12 centered at a mean
velocity of V(lsr) = -4 +/- 15 km/s. The mean full width at half maximum is 119
+/- 42 km/s. Such a wide line is absent in the spectra at positions beyond
about 2' from Sgr A*. The position-velocity diagrams in optical depth reveal
that the wide line originates in various components of the circumnuclear disk
(radius approx. 1.3') surrounding Sgr A*. These components contribute to the
optical depth of the wide line in different velocity ranges. The
position-velocity diagrams do not reveal any diffuse feature which could be
attributed to a large number of HI clouds along the line of sight to Sgr A*.
Consequently, the wide line has no implications either to a global population
of shocked HI clouds in the Galaxy or to the energetics of the interstellar
medium as was earlier thought.Comment: LaTeX, 12 pages and 9 figures, accepted for publication in J.
Astrophys. Ast
The Sasa-Satsuma higher order nonlinear Schrodinger equation and its bilinearization and multi-soliton solutions
Higher order and multicomponent generalizations of the nonlinear Schrodinger
equation are important in various applications, e.g., in optics. One of these
equations, the integrable Sasa-Satsuma equation, has particularly interesting
soliton solutions. Unfortunately the construction of multi-soliton solutions to
this equation presents difficulties due to its complicated bilinearization. We
discuss briefly some previous attempts and then give the correct
bilinearization based on the interpretation of the Sasa-Satsuma equation as a
reduction of the three-component Kadomtsev-Petvishvili hierarchy. In the
process we also get bilinearizations and multi-soliton formulae for a two
component generalization of the Sasa-Satsuma equation (the
Yajima-Oikawa-Tasgal-Potasek model), and for a (2+1)-dimensional
generalization.Comment: 13 pages in RevTex, added reference
The membrane-embedded segment of cytochrome b5 as studied by cross-linking with photoactivatable phospholipids
Vesicles were prepared from a 9:1 (mole/mol) mixture of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine and the radioactively labeled phospholipids, 1-palmitoyl-2-ω -(m-diazirinophenoxy)undecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PC-I) or 1-palmitoyl-2-ω -(2-diazo-3,3,3-trifluropropionyloxy)lauroyl-sn- glycero-3-phosphocholine (PC-II). Rabbit liver cytochrome b5 was inserted into these vesicles spontaneously and the resulting vesicles containing the cytochrome b5 in the transferable form were photolyzed. Cytochrome b5 containing covalently cross-linked phospholipids was isolated by Sephadex LH-60 column chromatography using ethanol/formic acid as the solvent. Of the total radioactivity, 4.6% (PC-I) or 11.3% (PC-II) was linked to the protein; of the former, up to 51% was base-labile, while in the latter, 22% was base-labile. The sites of cross-linking of PC-I to the protein were investigated by fragmentation with trypsin, Staphylococcus aureas V8 protease, CNBr, and o-iodosobenzoic acid followed by Sephadex LH-60 chromatography and Edman sequencing (solid phase) of the appropriate fragments. The distribution of cross-linking was broad (Ser-104 to Met-130), showing a bell-shaped pattern with a significant peak at Ser-118. The labeling pattern is consistent with the previously proposed loop-back model for the membranous segment in the transferable form of cytochrome b5
Engineering functional and anthropomorphic models for surgical training in interventional radiology: A state-of-the-art review
Training medical students in surgical procedures and evaluating their performance are both necessary steps to ensure the safety and efficacy of surgeries. Traditionally, trainees practiced on live patients, cadavers or animals under the supervision of skilled physicians, but realistic anatomical phantom models have provided a low-cost alternative because of the advance of material technology that mimics multi-layer tissue structures. This setup provides safer and more efficient training. Many research prototypes of phantom models allow rapid in-house prototyping for specific geometries and tissue properties. The gel-based method and 3D printing-based method are two major methods for developing phantom prototypes. This study excluded virtual reality based technologies and focused on physical phantoms, total 189 works published between 2015 and 2020 on anatomical phantom prototypes made for interventional radiology were reviewed in terms of their functions and applications. The phantom prototypes were first categorized based on fabrication methods and then subcategorized based on the organ or body part they simulated; the paper is organized accordingly. Engineering specifications and applications were analyzed and summarized for each study. Finally, current challenges in the development of phantom models and directions for future work were discussed
On the method of estimating emission altitude from relativistic phase shift in pulsars
The radiation by relativistic plasma particles is beamed in the direction of
field line tangents in the corotating frame, but in an inertial frame it is
aberrated toward the direction of rotation. We have revised the relation of
aberration phase shift by taking into account of the colatitude of emission
spot and the plasma rotation velocity. In the limit of small angle
approximation, aberration phase shift becomes independent of the inclination
angle alpha and the sight line impact angle beta. However, at larger altitudes
or larger rotation phases, the shift does depend on alpha and beta. We have
given an expression for the phase shift in the intensity profile by taking into
account of aberration, retardation and polar cap currents. We have re-estimated
the emission heights of the six classical pulsars, and analyzed the profile of
a millisecond pulsar PSR J0437-4715 at 1440 MHz by fitting the Gaussians to
pulse components. By this procedure we have been able to identify 11 emission
components of PSR J0437-4715. We propose that they form a emission beam with 5
nested cones centered on the core. Using the phase location of component peaks,
we have estimated the relativistic phase shift and the emission height of conal
components. We find some of the components are emitted from the altitudes as
high as 23 percent of light cylinder radius.Comment: 31 pages, 17 Postscript figures, uses aastex.cls, Revised the
aberation and retardation phase shift formula
Simultaneous single-pulse observations of radio pulsars: II. Orthogonal polarization modes in PSR B1133+16
In this paper, we present a study of orthogonal polarization modes in the
radio emission of PSR B1133+16, conducted within the frame of simultaneous,
multi-frequency, single-pulse observations. Simultaneously observing at two
frequencies (1.41 GHz and 4.85 GHz) provides the means to study the bandwidth
of polarization features such as the polarization position angle. We find two
main results. First, that there is a high degree of correlation between the
polarization modes at the two frequencies. Secondly, the modes occur more
equally and the fractional linear polarization decreases towards higher
frequencies. We discuss this frequency evolution and propose propagation
effects in the pulsar magnetosphere as its origin.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 5 pages, 4 figure
Does Sub-millisecond Pulsar XTE J1739-285 Contain a Low Magnetic Neutron Star or Quark Star ?
With the possible detection of the fastest spinning nuclear-powered pulsar
XTE J1739-285 of frequency 1122 Hz (0.8913 ms), it arouses us to constrain the
mass and radius of its central compact object and to imply the stellar matter
compositions: neutrons or quarks. Spun-up by the accreting materials to such a
high rotating speed, the compact star should have either a small radius or
short innermost stable circular orbit. By the empirical relation between the
upper kHz quasi-periodic oscillation frequency and star spin frequency, a
strong constraint on mass and radius is obtained as 1.51 solar masses and 10.9
km, which excludes most equations of states (EOSs) of normal neutrons and
strongly hints the star promisingly to be a strange quark star. Furthermore,
the star magnetic field is estimated to be about , which reconciles with those of millisecond radio pulsars,
revealing the clues of the evolution linkage of two types of astrophysical
objects.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, accepted by PASP 200
Transcription Factor Nrf1 Mediates the Proteasome Recovery Pathway after Proteasome Inhibition in Mammalian Cells
In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, chemical or genetic inhibition of proteasome activity induces new proteasome synthesis promoted by the transcription factor RPN4. This ensures that proteasome activity is matched to demand. This transcriptional feedback loop is conserved in mammals, but its molecular basis is not understood. Here, we report that nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-related factor 1 (Nrf1), a transcription factor of the cap “n” collar basic leucine zipper family, but not the related Nrf2, is necessary for induced proteasome gene transcription in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Promoter-reporter assays revealed the importance of antioxidant response elements in Nrf1-mediated upregulation of proteasome subunit genes. Nrf1^(−/−) MEFs were impaired in the recovery of proteasome activity after transient treatment with the covalent proteasome inhibitor YU101, and knockdown of Nrf1 in human cancer cells enhanced cell killing by YU101. Taken together, our results suggest that Nrf1-mediated proteasome homeostasis could be an attractive target for therapeutic intervention in cancer
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