3D Radiation hydrodynamics of a dynamical torus

We have developed a new dynamical model of the torus region in active galactic nucleus (AGN), using a three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics algorithm. These new simulations have the specific aim to explore the role of radiatively-driven outflows, which is hotly debated in current literature as a possible explanation for the observed infrared emission from the polar regions of AGN. In this first paper, we only consider radiative effects induced by the primary radiation from the AGN. The simulations generate a disk & outflow structure that qualitatively agrees with observations, although the outflow is radial rather than polar, likely due to the lack of radiation pressure from hot dust. We find cut-offs between the wind and disk at gas temperatures of 1000 K and dust temperatures of 100 K, producing kinematic signatures that can be used for interpretation of high resolution infrared observations. We also produce line emission maps to aid in the interpretation of recent ALMA observations and future JWST observations. We investigate a number of simulation parameters, and find that the anisotropy of the radiation field is equally important to the Eddington factor, despite the anisotropy often being assumed to have a single sometimes arbitrary form in many previous works. We also find that supernovae can have a small but significant impact, but only at extremely high star formation rates.Comment: 2nd revision, Accepted in Ap

The subarcsecond mid-infrared view of local active galactic nuclei: III. Polar dust emission

Recent mid-infrared (MIR) interferometric observations showed in few active galactic nuclei (AGN) that the bulk of the infrared emission originates from the polar region above the putative torus, where only little dust should be present. Here, we investigate whether such strong polar dust emission is common in AGN. Out of 149 Seyferts in the MIR atlas of local AGN (Asmus et al.), 21 show extended MIR emission on single dish images. In 18 objects, the extended MIR emission aligns with the system axis position angle, established by [OIII], radio, polarisation and maser based position angle measurements. The relative amount of resolved MIR emission is at least 40 per cent and scales with the [OIV] fluxes implying a strong connection between the extended continuum and [OIV] emitters. These results together with the radio-quiet nature of the Seyferts support the scenario that the bulk of MIR emission is emitted by dust in the polar region and not by the torus, which would demand a new paradigm for the infrared emission structure in AGN. The current low detection rate of polar dust in the AGN of the MIR atlas is explained by the lack of sufficient high quality MIR data and the requirement for the orientation, NLR strength and distance of the AGN. The James-Webb Space Telescope will enable much deeper nuclear MIR studies with comparable angular resolution, allowing us to resolve the polar emission and surroundings in most of the nearby AGN.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ on Mar 08 (submitted Dec 22

India Between Scylla and Charybdis: Negotiating the Cliff of Federalism

In the past several years, the South Asian sub-continent has been making headlines for what is seen as the challenge of its multiple ‘failing states’, while India, the ‘anchor state’ to which all the dots connect, continues to enjoy the reputation of being the world’s largest democracy and a rising giant in Asia. But India, too, has been showing worrisome signs of disintegration. Persistent ethnic strife, regular outbursts of communal violence, a spade of terrorist attacks, a Maoist movement apparently growing in numbers, widespread corruption and crumbling public services are all manifestations of a system under strain. Constitutional experts and political analysts have begun to portray India as an entity with a reasonably functional brain at the centre but weak nerve lanes and sinews to meaningfully connect to the periphery. This paper will argue that India’s ambiguous stance on the models of self-rule and shared rule has significantly contributed to a governance crisis severe enough to invite characterizations of India as a ‘flailing state’

The coronoid process as a new donor source for autogenous bone grafts for reconstructing orbital and midface defects

Reconstructing orbital or midface defects by means of autogenous bone graft is a question of a well suited donor area. Several approaches in harvesting bone grafts from the calvarian or the illiac crest demonstrated that the grafts did not fit in shape or thickness. Also, the retromolar region as a donor area lead to structural loss of stability with the risk of spontaneous fractures of the mandible. Therefore, we present a new technique of harvesting an autogenous bone graft from the lateral cortical layer of the coronoid process. This region is a well suited donor area because of its easy accessibility, the good shape and thickness of the graft and its corticocancellous nature.La reconstruction des pertes de substance des régions orbitaires et centro-faciale à l’aide de greffes d’os autologue dépend du site adéquat du prélèvement. Diverses tentatives de prélever des greffons osseux à partir des os du crâne ou de la crête iliaque ont démontré que ces greffes ne peuvent pas convenir à cause de leur taille et de leur épaisseur. Prélever un greffon à partir de la région rétromolaire conduit à une perte de structure et de stabilité avec comme conséquence une fracture spontanée de la mandibule. C’est ainsi que nous présentons une nouvelle technique en recueillant un greffon d’os autologue à partir de la couche corticale du processus coronoïde. Cette région convient bien comme territoire donneur étant donné la facilité de son accès, la forme et l’épaisseur adéquate du greffon ainsi que sa nature corticale

Non radioactive in situ hybridization for detection of human papilloma virus DNA in squamous cell carcinoma of tongue

Previous studies indicate that HPV type 16 and 18 (HPV) are associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.In this investigation we evaluate in our hospital 253 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue not related to tobacco or alcohol with a tumor index of T2 NO MO between 1981 and 1991. From 12 patients we were able to obtain tissue. For detection of human papilloma virus, DNA sequences 6, 11, 16, 18, 31 and 33 in paraffin-embedded human tissue biopsies a non-radioactive in situ hybridization procedure was utilized.Approximately 60% of the carcinoma of the tongue are positive for episomal viral DNA 6, 11, 16 and 18. These results confirms that HPV infection may play a possible role in the multifactural etiology of carcinogenesis of squamous celle carcinoma of the tongue and probably acting synergisticly with other carcinogenesis.Des études précédentes ont démontré que les types 16 et 18 du virus du papillome humain (HPV) sont associés au carcinome épidermoïde de la tête et du cou.Au cours de cette investigation nous avons évalué dans notre hôpital de 1981 à 1991, 253 patients présentant un carcinome épidermoïde de la langue, non relié au tabac et à l’alcool, avec un index T2 NO MO.Nous avons pu obtenir des fragments de tissus chez 12 patients. Nous avons appliqué une technique d’hybridation in situ non radioactive pour la détection des séquences ADN 6, 11,16, 18, 31 et 33 du virus du papillome humain sur des biopsies incluses à la paraffine.Environ 60% des cancers de la langue sont positifs pour l’episome de l’ADN viral 6, 11, 16 et 18. Ces résultats confirment que l’infection par le virus du papillome est susceptible de jouer un rôle dans l’étiologie multifactorielle de la cancérogénèse du carcinome épidermoïde de la langue, et qu’elle peut agir en synergie avec d’autre carcinogènes

Relativism or Anti-Anti-Relativism? Epistemological and Rhetorical Moves in Feminist Epistemology and Philosophy of Science

Feminist approaches in epistemology and philosophy of science have frequently been labelled as ’relativist’, both by feminist as well as by non-feminist philosophers. Regularly the so labelled distance themselves from even the mere suspicion of relativist tendencies. There is a remarkable discrepancy between an attributed and a self-declared relativism. Taking the self-declared relativism of Lorraine Code as an example, the article argues that it is a case of a rhetorical not epistemological relativism, better termed as anti-anti-relativism, but that there are nevertheless good reasons for feminists to follow Code along that path

Differential interferometry of QSO broad line regions I: improving the reverberation mapping model fits and black hole mass estimates

Reverberation mapping estimates the size and kinematics of broad line regions (BLR) in Quasars and type I AGNs. It yields size-luminosity relation, to make QSOs standard cosmological candles, and mass-luminosity relation to study the evolution of black holes and galaxies. The accuracy of these relations is limited by the unknown geometry of the BLR clouds distribution and velocities. We analyze the independent BLR structure constraints given by super-resolving differential interferometry. We developed a three-dimensional BLR model to compute all differential interferometry and reverberation mapping signals. We extrapolate realistic noises from our successful observations of the QSO 3C273 with AMBER on the VLTI. These signals and noises quantify the differential interferometry capacity to discriminate and measure BLR parameters including angular size, thickness, spatial distribution of clouds, local-to-global and radial-to-rotation velocity ratios, and finally central black hole mass and BLR distance. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo model-fit, of data simulated for various VLTI instruments, gives mass accuracies between 0.06 and 0.13 dex, to be compared to 0.44 dex for reverberation mapping mass-luminosity fits. We evaluate the number of QSOs accessible to measures with current (AMBER), upcoming (GRAVITY) and possible (OASIS with new generation fringe trackers) VLTI instruments. With available technology, the VLTI could resolve more than 60 BLRs, with a luminosity range larger than four decades, sufficient for a good calibration of RM mass-luminosity laws, from an analysis of the variation of BLR parameters with luminosity.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, accepted by MNRAS on December 5, 201

Downwash-Aware Trajectory Planning for Large Quadrotor Teams

We describe a method for formation-change trajectory planning for large quadrotor teams in obstacle-rich environments. Our method decomposes the planning problem into two stages: a discrete planner operating on a graph representation of the workspace, and a continuous refinement that converts the non-smooth graph plan into a set of C^k-continuous trajectories, locally optimizing an integral-squared-derivative cost. We account for the downwash effect, allowing safe flight in dense formations. We demonstrate the computational efficiency in simulation with up to 200 robots and the physical plausibility with an experiment with 32 nano-quadrotors. Our approach can compute safe and smooth trajectories for hundreds of quadrotors in dense environments with obstacles in a few minutes.Comment: 8 page