1,777 research outputs found
Energy loss mechanism for suspended micro- and nanoresonators due to the Casimir force
A so far not considered energy loss mechanism in suspended micro- and
nanoresonators due to noncontact acoustical energy loss is investigated
theoretically. The mechanism consists on the conversion of the mechanical
energy from the vibratory motion of the resonator into acoustic waves on large
nearby structures, such as the substrate, due to the coupling between the
resonator and those structures resulting from the Casimir force acting over the
separation gaps. Analytical expressions for the resulting quality factor Q for
cantilever and bridge micro- and nanoresonators in close proximity to an
underlying substrate are derived and the relevance of the mechanism is
investigated, demonstrating its importance when nanometric gaps are involved
Mirror Dark Matter
There appear to be three challenges that any theory of dark matter must face:
(i) why is of the same order as ? (ii) what
are the near solar mass objects () observed by the MACHO
microlensing project ? and (iii) understanding the shallow core density profile
of the halos of dwarf as well as low surface brightness galaxies. The popular
cold dark matter candidates, the SUSY LSP and the axion fail to meet these
challenges. We argue that in the mirror model suggested recently to explain the
neutrino anomalies, the mirror baryons being 15-20 times heavier than familiar
baryons, can play the role of the cold dark matter and provide reasonable
explanation of all three above properties without extra assumptions.Comment: Latex, 10 pages; Invited talk presented in PASCOS99 workshop, held in
Lake Tahoe, Dec. 1999 and DM2000 workshop held in Los Angeles, February, 200
Mirror Dark Matter and Core Density of Galaxies
We present a particle physics realization of a recent suggestion by Spergel
and Steinhardt that collisional but dissipationless dark matter may resolve the
core density problem in dark matter-dominated galaxies such as the dwarf
galaxies. The realization is the asymmetric mirror universe model introduced to
explain the neutrino puzzles and the microlensing anomaly. The mirror baryons
are the dark matter particles with the desired properties. The time scales are
right for resolution of the core density problem and formation of mirror stars
(MACHOs observed in microlensing experiments). The mass of the region
homogenized by Silk damping is between a dwarf and a large galaxy.Comment: 9 pages, LaTex. The present version shows that atomic scattering
inherent in the mirror model can solve the core density problem without the
need for an extra U(1) discussed in the original version; all conclusions are
unchanged. This version is accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Galactic Bulge Microlensing Optical Depth from EROS-2
We present a new EROS-2 measurement of the microlensing optical depth toward
the Galactic Bulge. Light curves of clump-giant stars
distributed over of the Bulge were monitored during seven Bulge
seasons. 120 events were found with apparent amplifications greater than 1.6
and Einstein radius crossing times in the range 5 {\rm d}.
This is the largest existing sample of clump-giant events and the first to
include northern Galactic fields. In the Galactic latitude range
1.4\degr<|b|<7.0\degr, we find with . These results are in good
agreement with our previous measurement, with recent measurements of the MACHO
and OGLE-II groups, and with predictions of Bulge models.Comment: accepted A&A, minor revision
Hierarchical structures in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
We investigate the degree of spatial correlation among extended structures in
the LMC and SMC. To this purpose we work with sub-samples characterised by
different properties such as age and size, taken from the updated catalogue of
Bica et al. or gathered in the present work. The structures are classified as
star clusters or non-clusters (basically, nebular complexes and their stellar
associations). The radius distribution functions follow power-laws
() with slopes and maximum radius () that
depend on object class (and age). Non-clusters are characterised by
and R_{max}\la472 pc, while young clusters (age \la10
Myr) have and R_{max}\la15 pc, and old ones (age \ga600
Myr) have and R_{max}\la40 pc. Young clusters present a
high degree of spatial self-correlation and, especially, correlate with
star-forming structures, which does not occur with the old ones. This is
consistent with the old clusters having been heavily mixed up, since their ages
correspond to several LMC and SMC crossing times. On the other hand, with ages
corresponding to fractions of the respective crossing times, the young clusters
still trace most of their birthplace structural pattern. Also, small clusters
( pc), as well as small non-clusters ( pc), are spatially
self-correlated, while their large counterparts of both classes are not. The
above results are consistent with a hierarchical star-formation scenario for
the LMC and SMC.Comment: Accepted by MNRA
A census of star formation histories of massive galaxies at 0.6 < z < 1 from spectro-photometric modeling using Bagpipes and Prospector
We present individual star-formation histories of massive galaxies
(log() > 10.5) from the Large Early Galaxy Astrophysics
Census (LEGA-C) spectroscopic survey at a lookback time of 7 billion
years and quantify the population trends leveraging 20hr-deep integrated
spectra of these 1800 star-forming and 1200 quiescent galaxies at
0.6 < < 1.0. Essentially all galaxies at this epoch contain stars of age <
3 Gyr, in contrast with older massive galaxies today, facilitating better
recovery of previous generations of star formation at cosmic noon and earlier.
We conduct spectro-photometric analysis using parametric and non-parametric
Bayesian SPS modeling tools - Bagpipes and Prospector to constrain the median
star-formation histories of this mass-complete sample and characterize
population trends. A consistent picture arises for the late-time stellar mass
growth when quantified as and , corresponding to the age of
the universe when galaxies formed 50\% and 90\% of their total stellar mass,
although the two sets of models disagree at the earliest formation times (e.g.
). Our results reveal trends in both stellar mass and stellar velocity
dispersion as in the local universe - low-mass galaxies with shallower
potential wells grow their stellar masses later in cosmic history compared to
high-mass galaxies. Unlike local quiescent galaxies, the median duration of
late-time star-formation ( = - ) does not
consistently depend on the stellar mass. This census sets a benchmark for
future deep spectro-photometric studies of the more distant universe.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables, submitted to Ap
Removing the Microlensing Blending-Parallax Degeneracy Using Source Variability
Microlensing event MACHO 97-SMC-1 is one of the rare microlensing events for
which the source is a variable star, simply because most variable stars are
systematically eliminated from microlensing studies. Using observational data
for this event, we show that the intrinsic variability of a microlensed star is
a powerful tool to constrain the nature of the lens by breaking the degeneracy
between the microlens parallax and the blended light. We also present a
statistical test for discriminating the location of the lens based on the
\chi^2 contours of the vector \Lambda, the inverse of the projected velocity.
We find that while SMC self lensing is somewhat favored over halo lensing,
neither location can be ruled out with good confidence.Comment: 15 text pages + 2 tables + 7 figures. Published in the Astrophysical
Journa
A New Minimal-Stress Freely-Moving Rat Model for Preclinical Studies on Intranasal Administration of CNS Drugs
Purpose. To develop a new minimal-stress model for intranasal administration in freely moving rats and to evaluate in this model the brain distribution of acetaminophen following intranasal versus intravenous administration. Methods. Male Wistar rats received one intranasal cannula, an intra-cerebral microdialysis probe, and two blood cannulas for drug administration and serial blood sampling respectively. To evaluate this novel model, the following experiments were conducted. 1) Evans Blue was administered to verify the selectivity of intranasal exposure. 2) During a 1 min infusion 10, 20, or 40 μl saline was administered intranasally or 250 µl intravenously. Corticosterone plasma concentrations over time were compared as biomarkers for stress. 3) 200 µg of the model drug acetaminophen was given in identical setup and plasma, and brain pharmacokinetics were determined. Results. In 96 % of the rats, only the targeted nasal cavity was deeply colored. Corticosterone plasma concentrations were not influenced, neither by route nor volume of administration. Pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen were identical after intravenous and intranasal administration, although the Cmax in microdialysates was reached a little earlier following intravenous administration. Conclusion. A new minimal-stress model for intranasal administration in freely moving rats has been successfully developed and allows direct comparison with intravenous administration. KEY WORDS: acetaminophen; brain; intranasal infusion; microdialysis; pharmacokinetics
61MO Biomarker analysis of men with enzalutamide (enza)-resistant metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with pembrolizumab (pembro) + enza in KEYNOTE-199
Background: In KEYNOTE-199 (NCT02787005), pembro + enza had durable antitumor activity in enza-refractory mCRPC. We evaluated the association between prespecified biomarkers and clinical outcomes.
Methods: Cohorts 4 (C4; RECIST-measurable disease) and 5 (C5; nonmeasurable, bone-predominant disease) enrolled men with chemotherapy-naive mCRPC, irrespective of PD-L1 status, that progressed after initial response to enza. We evaluated TMB by whole exome sequencing (n = 64), PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) by IHC (n = 124), and 18-gene T-cell–inflamed gene expression profile (TcellinfGEP) by NanoString (n = 51). Outcomes were DCR, PFS, PSA response, PSA progression, OS, and ORR per blinded independent review (C4 only). Significance of continuous biomarkers (CPS, TMB, GEP) was prespecified at 0.05 for 1-sided P values from logistic (ORR, DCR, PSA response) and Cox proportional hazard (PFS, OS, PSA progression) regression adjusted for ECOG PS.
Results: In C4, ORR was 10% (5/48) in pts with evaluable TMB data and 12% (10/81) in pts with CPS data. In C4 and C5, 16% (10/64) and 14% (17/124) of pts with TMB and CPS data, respectively, achieved a PSA response. TMB was significantly associated with DCR (P = 0.03) and trended toward an association with PSA response (P = 0.08). TMB (AUROC [95% CI]: 0.68 [0.51-0.86]), but not CPS (0.54 [0.41-0.67]) or TcellinfGEP (0.55 [0.37-0.74]), enriched for PSA response. TMB (P = 0.04), but not CPS (P = 0.57) or TcellinfGEP (P = 0.32), was significantly associated with PSA progression. There was 1 MSI-H pt (per Promega PCR assay); this pt achieved an objective and PSA response and had PFS \u3e6 months. TMB, CPS, and TcellinfGEP were not associated with PFS or OS. There was a low prevalence of TMB ≥175 mut/exome (11%) and TcellinfGEP-high (≥−0.318; 16%).
Conclusions: In this biomarker analysis of KEYNOTE-199 C4-C5, PD-L1 CPS and TcellinfGEP were not significantly associated with clinical outcome. Despite the low prevalence of TMB ≥175 mut/exome, TMB was positively associated with outcomes of pembro + enza in pts with mCRPC. The sample sizes for the exploratory analyses were small, and results should be interpreted with caution
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