Studies and observations of ultraviolet and X-ray sources

The status of research undertaken with the IUE satellite for programs on strong binary X-ray stars and X-ray globular clusters is summarized. Variable Seyfert galaxies and cataclysmic variables were investigated

The Energy-Momentum tensor on SpincSpin^c manifolds

On $Spin^c$ manifolds, we study the Energy-Momentum tensor associated with a spinor field. First, we give a spinorial Gauss type formula for oriented hypersurfaces of a $Spin^c$ manifold. Using the notion of generalized cylinders, we derive the variationnal formula for the Dirac operator under metric deformation and point out that the Energy-Momentum tensor appears naturally as the second fundamental form of an isometric immersion. Finally, we show that generalized $Spin^c$ Killing spinors for Codazzi Energy-Momentum tensor are restrictions of parallel spinors.Comment: To appear in IJGMMP (International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics), 22 page

The Backgrounds Data Center

The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization has created data centers for midcourse, plumes, and backgrounds phenomenologies. The Backgrounds Data Center (BDC) has been designated as the prime archive for data collected by SDIO programs. The BDC maintains a Summary Catalog that contains 'metadata,' that is, information about data, such as when the data were obtained, what the spectral range of the data is, and what region of the Earth or sky was observed. Queries to this catalog result in a listing of all data sets (from all experiments in the Summary Catalog) that satisfy the specified criteria. Thus, the user can identify different experiments that made similar observations and order them from the BDC for analysis. On-site users can use the Science Analysis Facility (SAFE for this purpose. For some programs, the BDC maintains a Program Catalog, which can classify data in as many ways as desired (rather than just by position, time, and spectral range as in the Summary Catalog). For example, data sets could be tagged with such diverse parameters as solar illumination angle, signal level, or the value of a particular spectral ratio, as long as these quantities can be read from the digital record or calculated from it by the ingest program. All unclassified catalogs and unclassified data will be remotely accessible

Rotational symmetry of self-similar solutions to the Ricci flow

Let (M,g) be a three-dimensional steady gradient Ricci soliton which is non-flat and \kappa-noncollapsed. We prove that (M,g) is isometric to the Bryant soliton up to scaling. This solves a problem mentioned in Perelman's first paper.Comment: Final version, to appear in Invent. Mat

The Observations Of The X-Ray Source Hz Herculis-Hercules X-1

NASAESASRCAstronom

GMRT observations of the field of INTEGRAL X-ray sources- II (newly discovered hard X-ray sources)

We have conducted low-frequency radio observations with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) of 40 new hard X-ray sources discovered by the INTEGRAL satellite. This survey was conducted in order, to study radio emissions from these sources, to provide precise position and to identify new microquasar candidates. From our observations we find that 24 of the X-ray sources have radio candidates within the INTEGRAL error circle. Based on the radio morphology, variability and information available from different wavelengths, we categorize them as seventeen Galactic sources (4 unresolved, 7 extended, 6 extended sources in diffuse region) and seven extragalactic sources (2 unresolved, 5 extended). Detailed account for seventeen of these sources was presented in earlier paper. Based on the radio data for the remaining sources at 0.61 GHz, and the available information from NVSS, DSS, 2MASS and NED, we have identified possible radio counterparts for the hard X-ray sources. The three unresolved sources, viz IGR J17303$-$0601, IGR J17464$-$3213, and IGR J18406$-$0539 are discussed in detail. These sources have been identified as X-ray binaries with compact central engine and variable in X-ray and in the radio, and are most likely microquasar candidates. The remaining fourteen sources have extended radio morphology and are either diffuse Galactic regions or extragalactic in origin.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, submitted to A&A. submitted to A&

Relationships Between Subgingival Microbiota and GCF Biomarkers in Generalized Aggressive Periodontitis

Aim To examine relationships between subgingival biofilm composition and levels of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) cytokines in periodontal health and generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP). Materials and methods Periodontal parameters were measured in 25 periodontally healthy and 31 GAP subjects. Subgingival plaque and GCF samples were obtained from 14 sites from each subject. 40 subgingival taxa were quantified using checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization and the concentrations of 8 GCF cytokines measured using Luminex. Cluster analysis was used to define sites with similar subgingival microbiotas in each clinical group. Significance of differences in clinical, microbiological and immunological parameters among clusters was determined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results GAP subjects had statistically significantly higher GCF levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) (p\u3c0.001), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (p\u3c0.01), and IL-1β/IL-10 ratio (p\u3c0.001) and higher proportions of Red and Orange complex species than periodontally healthy subjects. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean proportion of cytokines among clusters in the periodontally healthy subjects, while the ratio IL-1β/IL-10 (p\u3c0.05) differed significantly among clusters in the aggressive periodontitis group. Conclusions Different subgingival biofilm profiles are associated with distinct patterns of GCF cytokine expression. Aggressive periodontitis subjects were characterized by a higher IL-1β/IL-10 ratio than periodontally healthy subjects, suggesting an imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in aggressive periodontitis

INTEGRAL observations of five sources in the Galactic Center region

A number of new X-ray sources (IGR J17091-3624, IGR/XTE J17391-3021, IGR J17464-3213 (= XTE J17464-3213 = H 1743-322), IGR J17597-2201, SAX/IGR J18027-2017) have been observed with the INTEGRAL observatory during ultra deep exposure of the Galactic Center region in August-September 2003. Most of them were permanently visible by the INTEGRAL at energies higher than $\sim 20$ keV, but IGR/XTE J17391-3021 was observed only during its flaring activity with a flux maximum of $\sim120$ mCrab. IGR J17091-3624, IGR J17464-3213 and IGR J17597-2201 were detected up to $\sim 100$-150 keV. In this paper we present the analysis of INTEGRAL observations of these sources to determine the nature of these objects. We conclude that all of them have a galactic origin. Two sources are black hole candidates (IGR J17091-3624 and IGR J17464-3213), one is an LMXB neutron star binary (presumably an X-ray burster) and two other sources (IGR J17597-2201 and SAX/IGR J18027-2017) are neutron stars in high mass binaries; one of them (SAX/IGR J18027-2017) is an accreting X-ray pulsar.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Specific Image Characteristics Influence Attitudes about Chimpanzee Conservation and Use as Pets

Chimpanzees are endangered in their native Africa but in the United States, they are housed not only in zoos and research centers but owned privately as pets and performers. In 2008, survey data revealed that the public is less likely to think that chimpanzees are endangered compared to other great apes, and that this is likely the result of media misportrayals in movies, television and advertisements. Here, we use an experimental survey paradigm with composite images of chimpanzees to determine the effects of specific image characteristics. We found that those viewing a photograph of a chimpanzee with a human standing nearby were 35.5% more likely to consider wild populations to be stable/healthy compared to those seeing the exact same picture without a human. Likewise, the presence of a human in the photograph increases the likelihood that they consider chimpanzees as appealing as a pet. We also found that respondents seeing images in which chimpanzees are shown in typically human settings (such as an office space) were more likely to perceive wild populations as being stable and healthy compared to those seeing chimpanzees in other contexts. These findings shed light on the way that media portrayals of chimpanzees influence public attitudes about this important and endangered species

Till death (or an intruder) do us part: intrasexual-competition in a monogamous Primate

Polygynous animals are often highly dimorphic, and show large sex-differences in the degree of intra-sexual competition and aggression, which is associated with biased operational sex ratios (OSR). For socially monogamous, sexually monomorphic species, this relationship is less clear. Among mammals, pair-living has sometimes been assumed to imply equal OSR and low frequency, low intensity intra-sexual competition; even when high rates of intra-sexual competition and selection, in both sexes, have been theoretically predicted and described for various taxa. Owl monkeys are one of a few socially monogamous primates. Using long-term demographic and morphological data from 18 groups, we show that male and female owl monkeys experience intense intra-sexual competition and aggression from solitary floaters. Pair-mates are regularly replaced by intruding floaters (27 female and 23 male replacements in 149 group-years), with negative effects on the reproductive success of both partners. Individuals with only one partner during their life produced 25% more offspring per decade of tenure than those with two or more partners. The termination of the pair-bond is initiated by the floater, and sometimes has fatal consequences for the expelled adult. The existence of floaters and the sporadic, but intense aggression between them and residents suggest that it can be misleading to assume an equal OSR in socially monogamous species based solely on group composition. Instead, we suggest that sexual selection models must assume not equal, but flexible, context-specific, OSR in monogamous species.Wenner-Gren Foundation, L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, the National Geographic Society, National Science Foundation (BCS- 0621020), the University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation and the Zoological Society of San Diego, German Science Foundation (HU 1746-2/1