1,140 research outputs found
Herbig-Haro flows in L1641N
We have used the 2.56m Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) to observe two deep
fields in L1641N, selected on the basis of previous shock studies, using the
2.12 micron transition of H2 (and a Ks filter to sample the continuum) for a
total exposure time of 4.6 h (72 min Ks) in the overlapping region. The
resulting high-resolution mosaic shows numerous new shocks and resolves many
known shocks into multiple components. Using previous observations taken 9
years earlier we calculate a proper motion map and combine this with Spitzer 24
micron observations of the embedded young stars. The combined H2 mosaic shows
many new shocks and faint structures in the HH flows. From the proper motion
map we find that most HH objects belong to two major bi-polar HH flows, the
large-scale roughly North-South oriented flow from central L1641N and a
previously unseen HH flow in eastern L1641N. Combining the tangential velocity
map with the mid-IR Spitzer images, two very likely outflow sources are found.
The outflow source of the eastern flow, L1641N-172, is found to be the
currently brightest mid-IR source in L1641N and seem to have brightened
considerably during the past 20 years. We make the first detection of this
source in the near-IR (Ks) and also find a near-IR reflection nebula pointing
at the source, probably the illuminated walls of a cone-shaped cavity cleared
out by the eastern lobe of the outflow. Extending a line from the eastern
outflow source along the proper motion vector we find that HH 301 and HH 302
(almost 1 pc away) belong to this new HH flow.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication by A &
The VISTA Orion mini-survey: star formation in the Lynds 1630 North cloud
The Orion cloud complex presents a variety of star formation mechanisms and
properties and it is still one of the most intriguing targets for star
formation studies. We present VISTA/VIRCAM near-infrared observations of the
L1630N star forming region, including the stellar clusters NGC 2068 and NGC
2071, in the Orion molecular cloud B and discuss them in combination with
Spitzer data. We select 186 young stellar object (YSO) candidates in the region
on the basis of multi-colour criteria, confirm the YSO nature of the majority
of them using published spectroscopy from the literature, and use this sample
to investigate the overall star formation properties in L1630N. The K-band
luminosity function of L1630N is remarkably similar to that of the Trapezium
cluster, i.e., it presents a broad peak in the range 0.3-0.7 M and a
fraction of sub-stellar objects of 20%. The fraction of YSOs still
surrounded by disk/envelopes is very high (85%) compared to other star
forming regions of similar age (1-2 Myr), but includes some uncertain
corrections for diskless YSOs. Yet, a possibly high disk fraction together with
the fact that 1/3 of the cloud mass has a gas surface density above the
threshold for star formation (129 M pc), points towards a
still on-going star formation activity in L1630N. The star formation efficiency
(SFE), star formation rate (SFR) and density of star formation of L1630N are
within the ranges estimated for galactic star forming regions by the Spitzer
"core to disk" and "Gould's Belt" surveys. However, the SFE and SFR are lower
than the average value measured in the Orion A cloud and, in particular, lower
than that in the southern regions of L1630. This might suggest different star
formation mechanisms within the L1630 cloud complex.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure
High Expression of Glycolytic Genes in Clinical Glioblastoma Patients Correlates With Lower Survival
Glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive brain tumor, is associated with a median survival at diagnosis of 16â20 months and limited treatment options. The key hallmark of GBM is altered tumor metabolism and marked increase in the rate of glycolysis. Aerobic glycolysis along with elevated glucose consumption and lactate production supports rapid cell proliferation and GBM growth. In this study, we examined the gene expression profile of metabolic targets in GBM samples from patients with lower grade glioma (LGG) and GBM. We found that gene expression of glycolytic enzymes is up-regulated in GBM samples and significantly associated with an elevated risk for developing GBM. Our findings of clinical outcomes showed that GBM patients with high expression of HK2 and PKM2 in the glycolysis related genes and low expression of genes involved in mitochondrial metabolism-SDHB and COX5A related to tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), respectively, was associated with poor patient overall survival. Surprisingly, expression levels of genes involved in mitochondrial oxidative metabolism are markedly increased in GBM compared to LGG but was lower compared to normal brain. The fact that in GBM the expression levels of TCA cycle and OXPHOS-related genes are higher than those in LGG patients suggests the metabolic shift in GBM cells when progressing from LGG to GBM. These results are an important step forward in our understanding of the role of metabolic reprogramming in glioma as drivers of the tumor and could be potential prognostic targets in GBM therapies
The thermal state of molecular clouds in the Galactic Center: evidence for non-photon-driven heating
We used the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) 12 m telescope to observe
the J_KaKc=3_03-2_02, 3_22-2_21, and 3_21-2_20 transitions of para-H_2CO at 218
GHz simultaneously to determine kinetic temperatures of the dense gas in the
central molecular zone (CMZ) of our Galaxy. The map extends over approximately
40 arcmin x 8 arcmin (~100x20 pc^2) along the Galactic plane with a linear
resolution of 1.2 pc. The strongest of the three lines, the H_2CO (3_03-2_02)
transition, is found to be widespread, and its emission shows a spatial
distribution similar to ammonia. The relative abundance of para-H_2CO is
0.5-1.2 10^{-9}, which is consistent with results from lower frequency H_2CO
absorption lines. Derived gas kinetic temperatures for individual molecular
clouds range from 50 K to values in excess of 100 K. While a systematic trend
toward (decreasing) kinetic temperature versus (increasing) angular distance
from the Galactic center (GC) is not found, the clouds with highest temperature
(T_kin > 100 K) are all located near the nucleus. For the molecular gas outside
the dense clouds, the average kinetic temperature is 65+/-10 K. The high
temperatures of molecular clouds on large scales in the GC region may be driven
by turbulent energy dissipation and/or cosmic-rays instead of photons. Such a
non-photon-driven thermal state of the molecular gas provides an excellent
template for the more distant vigorous starbursts found in ultraluminous
infrared galaxies (ULIRGs).Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, A&A in pres
Depletion of mitochondrial protease OMA1 alters proliferative properties and promotes metastatic growth of breast cancer cells
Metastatic competence of cancer cells is influenced by many factors including metabolic alterations and changes in mitochondrial biogenesis and protein homeostasis. While it is generally accepted that mitochondria play important roles in tumorigenesis, the respective molecular events that regulate aberrant cancer cell proliferation remain to be clarified. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms underlying the role of mitochondria in cancer progression has potential implications in the development of new therapeutic strategies. We show that low expression of mitochondrial quality control protease OMA1 correlates with poor overall survival in breast cancer patients. Silencing OMA1 in vitro in patientderived metastatic breast cancer cells isolated from the metastatic pleural effusion and atypical ductal hyperplasia mammary tumor specimens (21MT-1 and 21PT) enhances the formation of filopodia, increases cell proliferation (Ki67 expression), and induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Mechanistically, loss of OMA1 results in alterations in the mitochondrial protein homeostasis, as reflected by enhanced expression of canonic mitochondrial unfolded protein response genes. These changes significantly increase migratory properties in metastatic breast cancer cells, indicating that OMA1 plays a critical role in suppressing metastatic competence of breast tumors. Interestingly, these results were not observed in OMA1-depleted non-tumorigenic MCF10A mammary epithelial cells. This newly identified reduced activity/levels of OMA1 provides insights into the mechanisms leading to breast cancer development, promoting malignant progression of cancer cells and unfavorable clinical outcomes, which may represent possible prognostic markers and therapeutic targets for breast cancer treatment
A mid-IR survey of the L 1641-N region with ISOCAM
We present an analysis of the L 1641 outflow region using broad-band and
narrow-band imaging data at mid-infrared wavelengths from ISOCAM. We detect a
total of 34 sources in the x region covered by
the broad-band filters. Four of these sources have no reported detection in
previous studies of the region. We find that the source previously identified
as the near-IR counter-part to the IRAS detected point-source (IRAS 05338-0624)
is not the brightest source in the wavelength region of the IRAS 12 \micron\
filter. We find instead that a nearby object (within the beam of IRAS and not
detected at near-IR wavelengths) outshines all others sources in the area by a
factor of 2. We submit that this source is likely to be the IRAS detected
point source. A comparison of the near-IR (J-H vs H-K) and mid-IR (J-K vs [6.7
um]-[14 um]) color-color plots shows only four sources with excess emission at
near-IR wavelengths, but atleast 85% of all sources show excess emission at
mid-IR wavelengths. The CVF spectra suggest a range of evolutionary status in
the program stars ranging from embedded YSOs to the young disks. When combined
with optical and near-IR age estimates, these results show active current
star-formation in the region that has been on-going for at least 2 Myr.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. Abstracted edited for arXiv submission Replaced by
version accepted by Ap
Rate coefficients for rovibrational transitions in H_2 due to collisions with He
We present quantum mechanical and quasiclassical trajectory calculations of
cross sections for rovibrational transitions in ortho- and para-H_2 induced by
collisions with He atoms. Cross sections were obtained for kinetic energies
between 10^-4 and 3 eV, and the corresponding rate coefficients were calculated
for the temperature range 100<T<4000 K. Comparisons are made with previous
calculations.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, AAS, eps
Teaching Lean Thinking Principles Through Hands-on Simulations
The teaching of Lean Enterprise Thinking in the aerospace context requires that students
understand a complex subjectâaerospace enterprises and their transformationâin a deep and
intuitive way. Without this context, the lessons of the LAI Lean Academy CourseÂź will make
little sense. A rich simulation of an enterprise with a structure and problems typical of the US
aerospace industry is used as a teaching tool. The simulation allows students to understand Lean
Thinking at an intuitive level, and practice lean tools in a realistic setting. The simulation
enables a CDIO approach (in this case, Comprehend, Design, Implement and Operate), by
having the students take two iterations through a CDIO process to transform the simulated
enterprise from an inefficient legacy state to a high performance future state (x3 to x6 production
using the same resources). The simulation and its teaching goals are described, with reference to
the limited literature on simulations in education. The process used in the simulation is then
described in a CDIO context. Finally, the success of the simulation is evaluated using limited
quantitative and more extensive qualitative data. It is found that the simulation is a powerful
learning tool and a key component of the LAI Lean Academy
On the nature of the deeply embedded protostar OMC-2 FIR 4
We use mid-infrared to submillimeter data from the Spitzer, Herschel, and
APEX telescopes to study the bright sub-mm source OMC-2 FIR 4. We find a point
source at 8, 24, and 70 m, and a compact, but extended source at 160, 350,
and 870 m. The peak of the emission from 8 to 70 m, attributed to the
protostar associated with FIR 4, is displaced relative to the peak of the
extended emission; the latter represents the large molecular core the protostar
is embedded within. We determine that the protostar has a bolometric luminosity
of 37 Lsun, although including more extended emission surrounding the point
source raises this value to 86 Lsun. Radiative transfer models of the
protostellar system fit the observed SED well and yield a total luminosity of
most likely less than 100 Lsun. Our models suggest that the bolometric
luminosity of the protostar could be just 12-14 Lsun, while the luminosity of
the colder (~ 20 K) extended core could be around 100 Lsun, with a mass of
about 27 Msun. Our derived luminosities for the protostar OMC-2 FIR 4 are in
direct contradiction with previous claims of a total luminosity of 1000 Lsun
(Crimier et al 2009). Furthermore, we find evidence from far-infrared molecular
spectra (Kama et al. 2013, Manoj et al. 2013) and 3.6 cm emission (Reipurth et
al 1999) that FIR 4 drives an outflow. The final stellar mass the protostar
will ultimately achieve is uncertain due to its association with the large
reservoir of mass found in the cold core.Comment: Accpeted by ApJ, 17 pages, 11 figure
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