Wolf-Rayet Galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: the metallicity dependence of the initial mass function

We use a large sample of 174 Wolf-Rayet (WR) galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to study whether and how the slope of the stellar initial mass function depends on metallicity. We calculate for each object its oxygen abundance according to which we divide our sample into four metallicity subsamples. For each subsample, we then measure three quantities: the equivalent width of \hb emission line, the equivalent width of WR bump around 4650\AA, and the WR bump-to-\hb intensity ratio, and compare to the predictions of the same quantities by evolutionary synthesis models of Schaerer & Vacca. Such comparisons lead to a clear dependence of the slope of initial mass function ($\alpha$) on metallicity in that galaxies at higher metallicities tend to have steeper initial mass functions, with the slope index ranging from $\alpha\sim$1.00 for the lowest metallicity of $Z=0.001$ to $\alpha\sim$3.30 for the highest metallicity $Z=0.02$. We have carefully examined the possible sources of systematic error either in models or in our observational measurements and shown that these sources do not change this result.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, ApJ accepte

Notch effect on structural strength of components at elevated temperature under creep, fatigue and creep-fatigue loading conditions : phenomenon and mechanism

Structural discontinuities (e.g., nozzle, hole, and groove) widely occur in many high temperature components of nuclear and fossil power plants. In general, the notched component is used for simplified tests and analyses due to the complexity of the introduction of a practical component. In the previous work, the effects of the notch on failure life of the components have been reported experimentally, including the strengthening and weakening effects; however, the internal mechanisms have not been clearly demonstrated. This work reviews the notch effects on the structural strength of the notched components at elevated temperatures under creep, fatigue, and creep-fatigue loading conditions. Experimental phenomena (i.e., strengthening or weakening effects) for typical notched specimens subjected to the above three loading conditions are summarized, and the related factors for notch effects on creep rupture life or cycle to failure of the components are discussed. The mechanisms for the strengthening or weakening effects induced by a notch are described. Evaluation procedures for notch effect analysis under complex loading conditions are also included, and the primary challenges concerning the notch effect are provided for further investigations

Iron(II)-Catalyzed Intermolecular Amino-Oxygenation of Olefins through the N−O Bond Cleavage of Functionalized Hydroxylamines

An iron-catalyzed diastereoselective intermolecular olefin amino-oxygenation reaction is reported, which proceeds via an iron-nitrenoid generated by the N− O bond cleavage of a functionalized hydroxylamine. In this reaction, a bench-stable hydroxylamine derivative is used as the amination reagent and oxidant. This method tolerates a range of synthetically valuable substrates that have been all incompatible with existing amino-oxygenation methods. It can also provide amino alcohol derivatives with regio- and stereochemical arrays complementary to known amino-oxygenation methods

FeII and FeI emission in IRAS 07598+6508 and PHL 1092

One of the puzzles in understanding the spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is the origin of the FeII emission. FeI emission, if present, will help reveal the physical conditions of the emitting gas. In an attempt to verify the presence of FeI lines, high S/N spectra of two FeII-strong quasars, IRAS 07598-6508 and PHL 1092, were obtained at the Multiple Mirror Telescope and the Steward 2.3 m Telescope. We have identified emission lines of FeI and TiII. The source of energy for FeII, FeI and TiII emission is probably not from ionization by the photon continuum, but heat. The high rate of energy generation and the presence of both high and low velocity gas indicate that the heat is generated not over a large area, but a narrow band in accretion disk, in which the rotational speed decreases rapidly.Comment: 17 pages, Latex, figures available upon request, to appear in Ap

catena-Poly[[triaqua­(pyridine-κN)nickel(II)]-μ-sulfato-κ2 O:O′]

The title compound, [Ni(SO4)(C5H5N)(H2O)3]n, was synthesized by the hydro­thermal reaction of NiSO4·6H2O, pyridine and water. The central NiII atom is coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral environment by a pyridine N atom, three aqua O atoms and two O atoms of bridging sulfate anions, yielding a zigzag chain. A three-dimensional network is generated via complex hydrogen bonds involving the sulfate and aqua ligands and a pyridine C—H group

Genomewide association study of leprosy.

BACKGROUND: The narrow host range of Mycobacterium leprae and the fact that it is refractory to growth in culture has limited research on and the biologic understanding of leprosy. Host genetic factors are thought to influence susceptibility to infection as well as disease progression. METHODS: We performed a two-stage genomewide association study by genotyping 706 patients and 1225 controls using the Human610-Quad BeadChip (Illumina). We then tested three independent replication sets for an association between the presence of leprosy and 93 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were most strongly associated with the disease in the genomewide association study. Together, these replication sets comprised 3254 patients and 5955 controls. We also carried out tests of heterogeneity of the associations (or lack thereof) between these 93 SNPs and disease, stratified according to clinical subtype (multibacillary vs. paucibacillary). RESULTS: We observed a significant association (P<1.00x10(-10)) between SNPs in the genes CCDC122, C13orf31, NOD2, TNFSF15, HLA-DR, and RIPK2 and a trend toward an association (P=5.10x10(-5)) with a SNP in LRRK2. The associations between the SNPs in C13orf31, LRRK2, NOD2, and RIPK2 and multibacillary leprosy were stronger than the associations between these SNPs and paucibacillary leprosy. CONCLUSIONS: Variants of genes in the NOD2-mediated signaling pathway (which regulates the innate immune response) are associated with susceptibility to infection with M. leprae