574 research outputs found
The availability of local aerial photography in southern California
Some of the major photography and photogrammetric suppliers and users located in Southern California are listed. Recent trends in aerial photographic coverage of the Los Angeles basin area are also noted, as well as the uses of that imagery
Collisional Plasma Models with APEC/APED: Emission Line Diagnostics of Hydrogen-like and Helium-like Ions
New X-ray observatories (Chandra and XMM-Newton) are providing a wealth of
high-resolution X-ray spectra in which hydrogen- and helium-like ions are
usually strong features. We present results from a new collisional-radiative
plasma code, the Astrophysical Plasma Emission Code (APEC), which uses atomic
data in the companion Astrophysical Plasma Emission Database (APED) to
calculate spectral models for hot plasmas. APED contains the requisite atomic
data such as collisional and radiative rates, recombination cross sections,
dielectronic recombination rates, and satellite line wavelengths. We compare
the APEC results to other plasma codes for hydrogen- and helium-like
diagnostics, and test the sensitivity of our results to the number of levels
included in the models. We find that dielectronic recombination with
hydrogen-like ions into high (n=6-10) principal quantum numbers affects some
helium-like line ratios from low-lying (n=2) transitions.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted by ApJ Letter
Suppression of Aromatase in Human Breast Cells by A Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitor and Its Analog Involves Multiple Mechanisms Independent of Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition
Previous studies have demonstrated that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor NS-398 decrease aromatase activity at the transcript level in breast cancer cells. However, N-Methyl NS-398, which does not have COX-2 inhibitory activity but has very similar structure to NS-398, decreases aromatase activity and transcription in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cells to the same extent as NS-398. This suggests that NS-398 decrease aromatase expression in breast cancer cells via other mechanism(s). Further investigations find that both compounds only decrease aromatase activity stimulated by forskolin/phorbol ester at the transcript level in both breast cancer cell lines and in breast stromal cells from patients. They do not affect aromatase expression and activity stimulated by dexamethasone. Both compounds also suppress MCF-7 cell proliferation stimulated by testosterone. Aromatase inhibition studies using placental microsomes demonstrate that the compounds show only weak direct aromatase inhibition. These results suggest that NS-398 and its N-methyl analog suppress aromatase expression and activity with multiple mechanisms
The lower Pliocene elasmobranch assemblage from Arcille (Campagnatico, Grosseto Province): palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental significance
- Tuscany hosts a conspicuous fossil record of elasmobranchs.
- New stratigraphically informed studies are need to be performed.
- A newly discovered elasmobranch assemblage is described from the lower Pliocene Campagnatico locality.
- This diverse assemblage allows for a reconstruction of an early Pliocene marginal-marine palaeoenvironment of Tuscany
Superflares on Ordinary Solar-Type Stars
Short duration flares are well known to occur on cool main-sequence stars as
well as on many types of `exotic' stars. Ordinary main-sequence stars are
usually pictured as being static on time scales of millions or billions of
years. Our sun has occasional flares involving up to ergs which
produce optical brightenings too small in amplitude to be detected in
disk-integrated brightness. However, we identify nine cases of superflares
involving to ergs on normal solar-type stars. That is,
these stars are on or near the main-sequence, are of spectral class from F8 to
G8, are single (or in very wide binaries), are not rapid rotators, and are not
exceedingly young in age. This class of stars includes many those recently
discovered to have planets as well as our own Sun, and the consequences for any
life on surrounding planets could be profound. For the case of the Sun,
historical records suggest that no superflares have occurred in the last two
millennia.Comment: 16 pages, accepted for publication in Ap
Transmission Spectra as Diagnostics of Extrasolar Giant Planet Atmospheres
Atmospheres of transiting extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) such as HD 209458 b
must impose features on the spectra of their parent stars during transits;
these features contain information about the physical conditions and chemical
composition of the atmospheres. The most convenient observational index showing
these features is the ``spectrum ratio'', defined as the wavelength-dependent
ratio of spectra taken in and out of transit. I describe a model that estimates
this ratio and its dependence upon parameters of the planetary atmosphere,
including its cloud structure, temperature, chemical composition, and wind
fields. For giant planets in close orbits, the depths of atomic and molecular
features in the spectrum ratio may be as large as 0.001. Observations in
visible and near-IR wavelengths using existing and planned spectrographs should
be adequate to detect these features, and to provide some diagnostics of the
conditions within the planetary atmosphere. I give numerous examples of such
diagnostics, and I discuss their practicality.Comment: 57 pages, 22 figures. To be published in the Astrophysical Journa
Biogeographic relationships of the Galapagos terrestrial biota: parsimony analyses of endemicity based on reptiles, land birds and Scalesia plants
Dental Morphology, Palaeoecology and Palaeobiogeographic Significance of a New Species of Requiem Shark (Genus Carcharhinus) from the Lower Miocene of Peru (East Pisco Basin, Chilcatay Formation)
Nowadays, the requiem sharks comprise one of the most diverse and widespread families of selachians, i.e., Carcharhinidae. Among the carcharhinids, the genus Carcharhinus has the largest number of living species, namely, at least 35. Known from fossils as old as the Cretaceous, the requiem sharks did not significantly radiate before the Eocene (when Carcharhinus also appeared), and their diversification mainly occurred in Neogene times. Here, we describe a new species of requiem shark, Carcharhinus dicelmai sp. nov., based on fossil teeth from Lower Miocene (18.4–18.1 Ma) strata of the Chilcatay Formation of the East Pisco Basin (southern Peru). Upper teeth of C. dicelmai sp. nov. are typically provided with a slender, smooth-edged cusp; a marked coronal twist; and a distal heel that bears 1–5 coarse, angularly lobate serrae that become more prominent toward the base of the cusp. The dentition of C. dicelmai sp. nov. appears less akin to that of most other carcharhines to the cutting-clutching type, and seemingly testifies to the development of more predominantly clutching adaptations. A carcharhinid tooth from the Burdigalian to lower Langhian Cantaure Formation of Venezuela is reassigned to C. dicelmai sp. nov., suggesting a trans-Panamanian distribution for this extinct shark species
Observation and Modeling of the Solar Transition Region: II. Solutions of the Quasi-Static Loop Model
In the present work we undertake a study of the quasi-static loop model and
the observational consequences of the various solutions found. We obtain the
most general solutions consistent with certain initial conditions. Great care
is exercised in choosing these conditions to be physically plausible (motivated
by observations). We show that the assumptions of previous quasi-static loop
models, such as the models of Rosner, Tucker and Vaiana (1978) and Veseckey,
Antiochos and Underwood (1979), are not necessarily valid for small loops at
transition region temperatures. We find three general classes of solutions for
the quasi-static loop model, which we denote, radiation dominated loops,
conduction dominated loops and classical loops. These solutions are then
compared with observations. Departures from the classical scaling law of RTV
are found for the solutions obtained. It is shown that loops of the type that
we model here can make a significant contribution to lower transition region
emission via thermal conduction from the upper transition region.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to ApJ, Microsoft Word File 6.0/9
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