130 research outputs found
Novel 129Xe Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Measurements of Pulmonary Gas-Exchange
Gas-exchange is the primary function of the lungs and involves removing carbon dioxide from the body and exchanging it within the alveoli for inhaled oxygen. Several different pulmonary, cardiac and cardiovascular abnormalities have negative effects on pulmonary gas-exchange. Unfortunately, clinical tests do not always pinpoint the problem; sensitive and specific measurements are needed to probe the individual components participating in gas-exchange for a better understanding of pathophysiology, disease progression and response to therapy.
In vivo Xenon-129 gas-exchange magnetic resonance imaging (129Xe gas-exchange MRI) has the potential to overcome these challenges. When participants inhale hyperpolarized 129Xe gas, it has different MR spectral properties as a gas, as it diffuses through the alveolar membrane and as it binds to red-blood-cells. 129Xe MR spectroscopy and imaging provides a way to tease out the different anatomic components of gas-exchange simultaneously and provides spatial information about where abnormalities may occur.
In this thesis, I developed and applied 129Xe MR spectroscopy and imaging to measure gas-exchange in the lungs alongside other clinical and imaging measurements. I measured 129Xe gas-exchange in asymptomatic congenital heart disease and in prospective, controlled studies of long-COVID. I also developed mathematical tools to model 129Xe MR signals during acquisition and reconstruction. The insights gained from my work underscore the potential for 129Xe gas-exchange MRI biomarkers towards a better understanding of cardiopulmonary disease. My work also provides a way to generate a deeper imaging and physiologic understanding of gas-exchange in vivo in healthy participants and patients with chronic lung and heart disease
Ex-smokers with and without COPD: Investigating CT Pulmonary Vascular, Airway, Pulmonary Artery and Aorta Measurements
RATIONALE: Pulmonary hypertension is characterized by increased pressure in the pulmonary artery, and is a key contributor to worsening symptoms in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The pulmonary artery to aorta diameter ratio (PA:Ao), measured using computed tomography (CT), is a biomarker of pulmonary hypertension; however, longitudinal changes in this measurement and its relationship to pulmonary vascular and airway structural changes is not well understood. Our objective was to investigate longitudinal changes in PA:Ao and its relationship with CT pulmonary vascular and airway abnormalities, airflow limitation and exercise-capacity
Predatory ability and abundance forecast the ecological impacts of two aquatic invasive species
Characterising interspecific interaction strengths, combined with population abundances of prey and their novel predators, is critical to develop predictive invasion ecology. This is especially true of aquatic invasive species, which can pose a significant threat to the structure and stability of the ecosystems to which they are introduced. Here, we investigated consumer-resource dynamics of two globally-established aquatic invasive species, European green crab (Carcinus maenas) and brown trout (Salmo trutta). We explored the mediating effect of prey density on predatory impact in these invaders relative to functionally analogous native rock crab (Cancer irroratus) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), respectively, feeding on shared prey (Mytilus sp. and Tenebrio molitor, respectively). We subsequently combined feeding rates with each predator's regional abundance to forecast relative ecological impacts. All predators demonstrated potentially destabilising Type II functional responses towards prey, with native rock crab and invasive brown trout exhibiting greater per capita impacts relative to their trophic analogues. Functional Response Ratios (attack rates divided by handling times) were higher for both invasive species, reflecting greater overall per capita effects compared to natives. Impact projections that incorporated predator abundances with per capita effects predicted severe impacts by European green crabs. However, brown trout, despite possessing higher per capita effects than Atlantic salmon, are projected to have low impact owing to currently low abundances in the sampled watershed. Should brown trout density increase sixfold, we predict it would exert higher impact than Atlantic salmon. Such impact-forecasting metrics and methods are thus vital tools to assist in the determination of current and future adverse impacts associated with aquatic invasive species
The Carnegie Supernova Project: First Near-Infrared Hubble Diagram to z~0.7
The Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP) is designed to measure the luminosity
distance for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as a function of redshift, and to set
observational constraints on the dark energy contribution to the total energy
content of the Universe. The CSP differs from other projects to date in its
goal of providing an I-band {rest-frame} Hubble diagram. Here we present the
first results from near-infrared (NIR) observations obtained using the Magellan
Baade telescope for SNe Ia with 0.1 < z < 0.7. We combine these results with
those from the low-redshift CSP at z <0.1 (Folatelli et al. 2009). We present
light curves and an I-band Hubble diagram for this first sample of 35 SNe Ia
and we compare these data to 21 new SNe Ia at low redshift. These data support
the conclusion that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. When
combined with independent results from baryon acoustic oscillations (Eisenstein
et al. 2005), these data yield Omega_m = 0.27 +/- 0.0 (statistical), and
Omega_DE = 0.76 +/- 0.13 (statistical) +/- 0.09 (systematic), for the matter
and dark energy densities, respectively. If we parameterize the data in terms
of an equation of state, w, assume a flat geometry, and combine with baryon
acoustic oscillations, we find that w = -1.05 +/- 0.13 (statistical) +/- 0.09
(systematic). The largest source of systematic uncertainty on w arises from
uncertainties in the photometric calibration, signaling the importance of
securing more accurate photometric calibrations for future supernova cosmology
programs. Finally, we conclude that either the dust affecting the luminosities
of SNe Ia has a different extinction law (R_V = 1.8) than that in the Milky Way
(where R_V = 3.1), or that there is an additional intrinsic color term with
luminosity for SNe Ia independent of the decline rate.Comment: 44 pages, 23 figures, 9 tables; Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Multi-Messenger Astronomy with Extremely Large Telescopes
The field of time-domain astrophysics has entered the era of Multi-messenger
Astronomy (MMA). One key science goal for the next decade (and beyond) will be
to characterize gravitational wave (GW) and neutrino sources using the next
generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). These studies will have a
broad impact across astrophysics, informing our knowledge of the production and
enrichment history of the heaviest chemical elements, constrain the dense
matter equation of state, provide independent constraints on cosmology,
increase our understanding of particle acceleration in shocks and jets, and
study the lives of black holes in the universe. Future GW detectors will
greatly improve their sensitivity during the coming decade, as will
near-infrared telescopes capable of independently finding kilonovae from
neutron star mergers. However, the electromagnetic counterparts to
high-frequency (LIGO/Virgo band) GW sources will be distant and faint and thus
demand ELT capabilities for characterization. ELTs will be important and
necessary contributors to an advanced and complete multi-messenger network.Comment: White paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Surve
The Most Slowly Declining Type Ia Supernova 2001ay
We present optical and near-infrared photometry, as well as ground-based
optical spectra and Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectra, of the Type Ia
supernova (SN) 2001ay. At maximum light the Si II and Mg II lines indicated
expansion velocities of 14,000 km/sec, while Si III and S II showed velocities
of 9,000 km/sec There is also evidence for some unburned carbon at 12,000
km/sec. SN 2001ay exhibited a decline-rate parameter Delta m_15(B) = 0.68 \pm
0.05 mag; this and the B-band photometry at t > +25 d past maximum make it the
most slowly declining Type Ia SN yet discovered. Three of four
super-Chandrasekhar-mass candidates have decline rates almost as slow as this.
After correction for Galactic and host-galaxy extinction, SN 2001ay had M_B =
-19.19 and M_V = -19.17 mag at maximum light; thus, it was not overluminous in
optical bands. In near-infrared bands it was overluminous only at the 2-sigma
level at most. For a rise time of 18 d (explosion to bolometric maximum) the
implied Ni-56 yield was (0.58 \pm 0.15)/alpha M_Sun, with alpha = L_max/E_Ni
probably in the range 1.0 to 1.2. The Ni-56 yield is comparable to that of many
Type Ia supernovae. The "normal" Ni-56 yield and the typical peak optical
brightness suggest that the very broad optical light curve is explained by the
trapping of the gamma rays in the inner regions.Comment: 57 pages, 22 figures. To be published in the Astronomical Journal
(September 2011
Multiwavelength observations of short time-scale variability in NGC 4151. IV. Analysis of multiwavelength continuum variability
This paper combines data from the three preceding papers in order to analyze
the multi-waveband variability and spectral energy distribution of the
Seyfert~1 galaxy NGC~4151 during the December 1993 monitoring campaign. The
source, which was near its peak historical brightness, showed strong,
correlated variability at X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical wavelengths. The
strongest variations were seen in medium energy (1.5~keV) X-rays, with a
normalized variability amplitude (NVA) of 24\%. Weaker (NVA = 6\%) variations
(uncorrelated with those at lower energies) were seen at soft -ray
energies of 100~keV. No significant variability was seen in softer
(0.1--1~keV) X-ray bands. In the ultraviolet/optical regime, the NVA decreased
from 9\% to 1\% as the wavelength increased from 1275~\AA\ to 6900~\AA. These
data do not probe extreme ultraviolet (1200~\AA\ to 0.1~keV) or hard X-ray
(2--50~keV) variability. The phase differences between variations in different
bands were consistent with zero lag, with upper limits of \ls0.15~day between
1275~\AA\ and the other ultraviolet bands, \ls0.3~day between 1275~\AA\ and
1.5~keV, and \ls1~day between 1275~\AA\ and 5125~\AA. These tight limits
represent more than an order of magnitude improvement over those determined in
previous multi-waveband AGN monitoring campaigns. The ultraviolet fluctuation
power spectra showed no evidence for periodicity, but were instead well-fitted
with a very steep, red power-law ().
If photons emitted at a ``primary" waveband are absorbed by nearby material
and ``reprocessed" to produce emission at a secondary waveband, causality
arguments require that variations in the secondary band follow those in the
primary band. The tight interband correlation and limits on the ultraviolet andComment: 35 pages, LaTeX (including aaspp4), including 7 PostScript figures;
To appear in the ApJ (October 20, 1996) Vol. 47
The electromagnetic counterpart of the binary neutron star merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. I. discovery of the optical counterpart using the Dark Energy Camera
We present the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) discovery of the optical counterpart of the first binary neutron star merger detected through gravitational-wave emission, GW170817. Our observations commenced 10.5 hr post-merger, as soon as the localization region became accessible from Chile. We imaged 70 deg2 in the i and z bands, covering 93% of the initial integrated localization probability, to a depth necessary to identify likely optical counterparts (e.g., a kilonova). At 11.4 hr post-merger we detected a bright optical transient located 10.6 from the nucleus of NGC 4993 at redshift z=0.0098, consistent (for H0 = 70 km s−1 Mpc−1) with the distance of 40±8 Mpc reported by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration (LVC). At detection the transient had magnitudes of i = 17.3 and z = 17.4, and thus an absolute magnitude of Mi = -15.7, in the luminosity range expected for a kilonova. We identified 1500 potential transient candidates. Applying simple selection criteria aimed at rejecting background events such as supernovae, we find the transient associated with NGC 4993 as the only remaining plausible counterpart, and reject chance coincidence at the 99.5% confidence level. We therefore conclude that the optical counterpart we have identified near NGC 4993 is associated with GW170817. This discovery ushers in the era of multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves and demonstrates the power of DECam to identify the optical counterparts of gravitational-wave sources
The electromagnetic counterpart of the binary neutron star merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. II. UV, optical, and near-infrared light curves and comparison to kilonova models
We present UV, optical, and near-infrared (NIR) photometry of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source from Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo, the binary neutron star merger GW170817. Our data set extends from the discovery of the optical counterpart at 0.47–18.5 days post-merger, and includes observations with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), Gemini-South/ FLAMINGOS-2 (GS/F2), and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The spectral energy distribution (SED) inferred from this photometry at 0.6 days is well described by a blackbody model with T » 8300 K, a radius of R » 4.5 ´ 1014 cm (corresponding to an expansion velocity of v » 0.3c), and a bolometric luminosity of Lbol » 5 ´ 10 41 erg s−1. At 1.5 days we find a multi-component SED across the optical and NIR, and subsequently we observe rapid fading in the UV and blue optical bands and significant reddening of the optical/ NIR colors. Modeling the entire data set, we find that models with heating from radioactive decay of 56Ni, or those with only a single component of opacity from r-process elements, fail to capture the rapid optical decline and red optical/NIR colors. Instead, models with two components consistent with lanthanide-poor and lanthanide-rich ejecta provide a good fit to the data; the resulting “blue” component has Mej » 0.01 M blue and v » 0.3 c ej blue , and the “red” component has Mej » 0.04 M red and v » 0.1 c ej red . These ejecta masses are broadly consistent with the estimated r-process production rate required to explain the Milky Way r-process abundances, providing the first evidence that binary neutron star (BNS) mergers can be a dominant site of r-process enrichment
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