3,622 research outputs found
The 1723 AD violent Strombolian and phreatomagatic eruption at Irazu volcano (Costa Rica)
The largest of the recorded historic eruptions at Irazú volcano began on February 16, 1723 and lasted
until at least December 11. We here critically examine deposits of this eruption exposed on the summit of Irazú. Our
reconstruction of the eruption is based on the unique chronicle of the Spanish governor Diego de la Haya. The eruption
began with a < 10 cm thick surge deposit of phreatic origin showing block sag structures. The deposit is overlain by
6 m-thick coarse-grained basaltic andesitic non-graded juvenile fallout tephra consisting of highly vesicular (22-59
vol.%) bombs and lapilli with minor hydrothermally altered lapilli (1-7 vol.%) and rare light colored andesitic vesicular
lapilli (< 1%). These fallout deposits are interpreted as strombolian, possible generated during a short-lived scoria cone
at the end of February 1723, dominate volumetrically in the proximal facies. Overlying <1.2 m thick phreatomagmatic
deposits of fi nely laminated lapilli-bearing gray ash (fallout and surge deposits) some with contorted bedding and sag
structures, are in turn overlain by a 1.2 m thick bed of ash matrix-rich bomb/block deposit. The 1723 eruption was
accompanied by shallow volcano-tectonic earthquakes (Modifi ed Mercalli scale Intensity MMI VI-VII, magnitude ML
~5.5) that possibly facilitated magma/water interaction. Phenocrysts in the basaltic andesite (~53-55 wt.% SiO2) bombs
comprise plagioclase (6.1-21.6 vol.%, An52-35), clinopyroxene (2.5-10 vol.%), orthopyroxene (0.7-2 vol.%), olivine
(0.1-2.2 vol.%; Fo76-88) and Fe/Ti-oxides (0.1-1%), in a groundmass (66.5-90.3 vol. %), dominated by plagioclase
(An69-54), clinopyroxene and opaques in brown and black glass with the same range of chemical composition (SiO2=
57-64 wt.%). Rare white pumiceous lapilli in the scoria deposits are high-K, hornblende andesite (SiO2: 58-60 wt.%),
geochemically unrelated to the scoria deposits. Thus, two different magmas co-existing in the magma chamber were
mingled shortly before, and during, the eruption, suggesting that the eruption was triggered by magma mingling between
hornblende andesite and basaltic andesite magma
Oscillation frequencies and mode lifetimes in alpha Centauri A
We analyse our recently-published velocity measurements of alpha Cen A
(Butler et al. 2004). After adjusting the weights on a night-by-night basis in
order to optimize the window function to minimize sidelobes, we extract 42
oscillation frequencies with l=0 to 3 and measure the large and small frequency
separations. We give fitted relations to these frequencies that can be compared
with theoretical models and conclude that the observed scatter about these fits
is due to the finite lifetimes of the oscillation modes. We estimate the mode
lifetimes to be 1-2 d, substantially shorter than in the Sun.Comment: Accepted by Ap
Preclinical animal acute toxicity studies of new developed MRI contrast agent based on gadolinium
Acute toxicity test of new developed MRI contrast agent based on disodium salt of gadopentetic acid complex were carried out on Mus musculus and Sprague Dawley rats according to guidelines of preclinical studies [1]. Groups of six animals each were selected for experiment. Death and clinical symptoms of animals were recorded during 14 days. As a result the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) for female mice is 2.8 mМ/kg of body weight, male mice - 1.4 mМ/kg, female rats - 2.8 mМ/kg, male rats - 5.6 mМ/kg of body weight. No Observed Adverse Effect Dose (NOAEL) for female mice is 1.4 mМ/kg, male mice - 0.7 mМ/kg, male and female rats - 0.7 mМ/kg. According to experimental data new developed MRI contrast agent based on Gd-DTPA complex is low-toxic
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Knowledge practices in design: The role of visual representations as 'epistemic objects'
We use a detailed study of the knowledge work around visual representations to draw attention to the multidimensional nature of `objects'. Objects are variously described in the literatures as relatively stable or in flux; as abstract or concrete; and as used within or across practices. We clarify these dimensions, drawing on and extending the literature on boundary objects, and connecting it with work on epistemic and technical objects. In particular, we highlight the epistemic role of objects, using our observations of knowledge work on an architectural design project to show how, in this setting, visual representations are characterized by a `lack' or incompleteness that precipitates unfolding. The conceptual design of a building involves a wide range of technical, social and aesthetic forms of knowledge that need to be developed and aligned. We explore how visual representations are used, and how these are meaningful to different stakeholders, eliciting their distinct contributions. As the project evolves and the drawings change, new issues and needs for knowledge work arise. These objects have an `unfolding ontology' and are constantly in flux, rather than fully formed. We discuss the implications for wider understandings of objects in organizations and for how knowledge work is achieved in practice
The violent past of Cygnus X-2
Cygnus X-2 appears to be the descendant of an intermediate-mass X-ray binary
(IMXB). Using Mazzitelli's (1989) stellar code we compute detailed evolutionary
sequences for the system and find that its prehistory is sensitive to stellar
input parameters, in particular the amount of core overshooting during the
main-sequence phase. With standard assumptions for convective overshooting a
case B mass transfer starting with a 3.5 M_sun donor star is the most likely
evolutionary solution for Cygnus X-2. This makes the currently observed state
rather short-lived, of order 3 Myr, and requires a formation rate > 1e-7 - 1e-6
per yr of such systems in the Galaxy. Our calculations show that neutron star
IMXBs with initially more massive donors (> 4 M_sun) encounter a delayed
dynamical instability; they are unlikely to survive this rapid mass transfer
phase. We determine limits for the age and initial parameters of Cygnus X-2 and
calculate possible dynamical orbits of the system in a realistic Galactic
potential, given its observed radial velocity. We find trajectories which are
consistent with a progenitor binary on a circular orbit in the Galactic plane
inside the solar circle that received a kick velocity < 200 km/s at the birth
of the neutron star. The simulations suggests that about 7% of IMXBs receiving
an arbitrary kick velocity from a standard kick velocity spectrum would end up
in an orbit similar to Cygnus X-2, while about 10% of them reach yet larger
Galactocentric distances.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The ROSAT North Ecliptic Pole Survey: The X-ray Catalog
The sky around the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP), at (2000) =
18, (2000) = +66\degr33\arcmin39\arcsec, has the deepest
exposure of the entire {\it ROSAT} All - Sky Survey (RASS). The NEP is an
undistinguished region of moderate Galactic latitude, b=29\fdg8, and hence
suitable for compiling statistical samples of both galactic and extragalactic
objects. We have made such a compilation in the 80.6 deg region surrounding
the NEP. Our sample fully exploits the properties of the RASS, since the only
criteria for inclusion are source position and significance, and yields the
deepest large solid angle contiguous sample of X-ray sources to date. We find
442 unique sources above a flux limit in the 0.5--2.0 keV band. In this paper we present the
X-ray properties of these sources as determined from the RASS. These include
positions, fluxes, spectral information in the form of hardness ratios, and
angular sizes. Since we have performed a comprehensive optical identification
program we also present the average X-ray properties of classes of objects
typical of the X-ray sky at these flux levels. We discuss the use of the RASS
to find clusters of galaxies based on their X-ray properties alone.Comment: 48 pages, 13 figures, accepted for ApJ Supp 162, 2006 (February
issue
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