14,565 research outputs found
Not a galaxy: IRAS 04186+5143, a new young stellar cluster in the outer Galaxy
We report the discovery of a new young stellar cluster in the outer Galaxy
located at the position of an IRAS PSC source that has been previously
mis-identified as an external galaxy. The cluster is seen in our near-infrared
imaging towards IRAS 04186+5143 and in archive Spitzer images confirming the
young stellar nature of the sources detected. There is also evidence of
sub-clustering seen in the spatial distributions of young stars and of gas and
dust.
Near- and mid-infrared photometry indicates that the stars exhibit colours
compatible with reddening by interstellar and circumstellar dust and are likely
to be low- and intermediate-mass YSOs with a large proportion of Class I YSOs.
Ammonia and CO lines were detected, with the CO emission well centred near
the position of the richest part of the cluster. The velocity of the CO and
NH lines indicates that the gas is Galactic and located at a distance of
about 5.5 kpc, in the outer Galaxy.
Herschel data of this region characterise the dust environment of this
molecular cloud core where the young cluster is embedded. We derive masses,
luminosities and temperatures of the molecular clumps where the young stars
reside and discuss their evolutionary stages.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figure
Subtle pH differences trigger single residue motions for moderating conformations of calmodulin
This study reveals the essence of ligand recognition mechanisms by which calmodulin (CaM) controls a variety of Ca2+ signaling processes. We study eight forms of calcium-loaded CaM each with distinct conformational states. Reducing the structure to two degrees of freedom conveniently describes main features of the conformational changes of CaM via simultaneous twist-bend motions of the two lobes. We utilize perturbation-response scanning (PRS) technique, coupled with molecular dynamics simulations. PRS is based on linear response theory, comprising sequential application of directed forces on selected residues followed by recording the resulting protein coordinates. We analyze directional preferences of the perturbations and resulting conformational changes. Manipulation of a single residue reproduces the structural change more effectively than that of single/pairs/triplets of collective modes of motion. Our findings also give information on how the flexible linker acts as a transducer of binding information to distant parts of the protein. Furthermore, by perturbing residue E31 located in one of the EF hand motifs in a specific direction, it is possible to induce conformational change relevant to five target structures. Independently, using four different pKa calculation strategies, we find this particular residue to be the charged residue (out of a total of 52), whose ionization state is most sensitive to subtle pH variations in the physiological range. It is plausible that at relatively low pH, CaM structure is less flexible. By gaining charged states at specific sites at a pH value around 7, such as E31 found in the present study, local conformational changes in the protein will lead to shifts in the energy landscape, paving the way to other conformational states. These findings are in accordance with Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) measured shifts in conformational distributions towards more compact forms with decreased pH. They also corroborate mutational studies and proteolysis results which point to the significant role of E31 in CaM dynamics
Phase glass and zero-temperature phase transition in a randomly frustrated two-dimensional quantum rotor model
The ground state of the quantum rotor model in two dimensions with random
phase frustration is investigated. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations are
performed on the corresponding (2+1)-dimensional classical model under the
entropic sampling scheme. For weak quantum fluctuation, the system is found to
be in a phase glass phase characterized by a finite compressibility and a
finite value for the Edwards-Anderson order parameter, signifying long-ranged
phase rigidity in both spatial and imaginary time directions. Scaling
properties of the model near the transition to the gapped, Mott insulator state
with vanishing compressibility are analyzed. At the quantum critical point, the
dynamic exponent is greater than one. Correlation
length exponents in the spatial and imaginary time directions are given by
and , respectively, both assume values
greater than 0.6723 of the pure case. We speculate that the phase glass phase
is superconducting rather than metallic in the zero current limit.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, to appear in JSTA
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Humanism in the Age of COVID-19: Renewing Focus on Communication and Compassion
The global COVID-19 pandemic has become one of the largest clinical and operational challenges faced by emergency medicine, and our EDs continue to see increased volumes of infected patients, many of whom are not only ill, but acutely aware and fearful of their circumstances and potential mortality. Given this, there may be no more important time to focus on staff-patient communication and expression of compassion.However, many of the techniques usually employed by emergency clinicians to provide comfort to patients and their families are made more challenging or impossible by the current circumstances. Geriatric ED patients, who are at increased risk of severe disease, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of isolation.Despite many challenges, emergency clinicians have at their disposal a myriad of tools that can still be used to express compassion and empathy to their patients. Placing emphasis on using these techniques to maximize humanism in the care of COVID-19 patients during this crisis has the potential to bring improvements to ED patient care well after this pandemic has passed
Setting the normalcy level of HI properties in isolated galaxies
Studying the atomic gas (HI) properties of the most isolated galaxies is
essential to quantify the effect that the environment exerts on this sensitive
component of the interstellar medium. We observed and compiled HI data for a
well defined sample of ~ 800 galaxies in the Catalog of Isolated Galaxies, as
part of the AMIGA project (Analysis of the ISM in Isolated GAlaxies,
http://amiga.iaa.es), which enlarges considerably previous samples used to
quantify the HI deficiency in galaxies located in denser environments. By
studying the shape of 182 HI profiles, we revisited the usually accepted result
that, independently of the environment, more than half of the galaxies present
a perturbed HI disk. In isolated galaxies this would certainly be a striking
result if these are supposed to be the most relaxed systems, and has
implications in the relaxation time scales of HI disks and the nature of the
most frequent perturbing mechanisms in galaxies. Our sample likely exhibits the
lowest HI asymmetry level in the local Universe. We found that other field
samples present an excess of ~ 20% more asymmetric HI profiles than that in
CIG. Still a small percentage of galaxies in our sample present large
asymmetries. Follow-up high resolution VLA maps give insight into the origin of
such asymmetries.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Conference 'Galaxies in Isolation: Exploring
Nature vs. Nurture', Granada, 12-15 May 2009. To be published in the ASP
Conference Serie
Non-linear Dependence of L(B) on L(FIR) and M(H2) among Spiral Galaxies and Effects of Tidal Interaction
Through the study of a carefully selected sample of isolated spiral galaxies,
we have established that two important global physical quantities for tracing
star forming activities, L(FIR) and M(H2), have non-linear dependence on
another commonly cited global quantity L(B). Furthermore we show that simple
power law relations can effectively describe these non-linear relations for
spiral galaxies spanning four orders of magnitude in FIR and M(H2) and nearly
three orders of magnitude in L(B). While the existence of non-linear dependence
of M(H2) (assuming a constant CO-to-H2 conversion) and L(FIR) on optical
luminosity L(B) has been previously noted in the literature, an improper
normalization of simple scaling by L(B) has been commonly used in many previous
studies to claim enhanced molecular gas content and induced activities among
tidally interacting and other types of galaxies. We remove these non-linear
effects using the template relations derived from the isolated galaxy sample
and conclude that strongly interacting galaxies do not have enhanced molecular
gas content, contrary to previous claims. With these non-linear relations among
L(B), L(FIR) and M(H2) properly taken into account, we confirm again that the
FIR emission and the star formation efficiency L(FIR)/M(H2) are indeed enhanced
by tidal interactions. Virgo galaxies show the same level of M(H2) and L(FIR)
as isolated galaxies. We do not find any evidence for enhanced star forming
activity among barred galaxies.Comment: 19 pages and 5 figures, requires AAS style files, ApJ, accepte
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