Stellar Shape Research Articles

Biocompatible Hydroxyapatite Ceramics Prepared from Natural Bones and Synthetic Materials

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is well known as a biocompatible and bioactive material. HA has been practically applied as bone graft materials in a range of medical and dental fields. In this study, two types of dense hydroxyapatite ceramics were prepared from natural bones and synthetic materials. The biocompatibility of HA ceramics for supporting osteoblast cell growth and cytotoxicity using an in vitro MG-63 cell line model were respectively evaluated. Artificial hydroxyapatite shows relative density of 93% with 1-2 <TEX>${\mu}m$</TEX> after sintering, but a hydroxyapatite compact derived from bovine bone has low sintered density of 85% with a small content of MgO. Irrespective of the starting raw materials, both types of sintered hydroxyapatite displayed similar biocompatibility in the tests. FE-SEM observations showed that most MG-63 cells had a stellar shape and formed an intercellular matrix containing fibers on sintered HA. The cells were well attached and grown over the HA surface, indicating that there was no toxicity.

Electrospun fibrous scaffolds promote breast cancer cell alignment and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

In this work we created electrospun fibrous scaffolds with random and aligned fiber orientations in order to mimic the three-dimensional structure of the natural extracellular matrix (ECM). The rigidity and topography of the ECM environment have been reported to alter cancer cell behavior. However, the complexity of the in vivo system makes it difficult to isolate and study such extracellular topographical cues that trigger cancer cells' response. Breast cancer cells were cultured on these fibrous scaffolds for 3-5 days. The cells showed elongated spindle-like morphology in the aligned fibers, whereas they maintained a mostly flat stellar shape in the random fibers. Gene expression profiling of these cells post seeding showed up-regulation of transforming growth factor β-1 (TGFβ-1) along with other mesenchymal biomarkers, suggesting that these cells undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in response to the polymer scaffold. The results of this study indicate that the topographical cue may play a significant role in tumor progression.

C I observations in the CQ Tauri proto-planetary disk: evidence of a very low gas-to-dust ratio ?

Gas and dust dissipation processes of proto-planetary disks are hardly known. Transition disks between Class II (proto-planetary disks) and Class III (debris disks) remain difficult to detect. We investigate the carbon chemistry of the peculiar CQ Tau gas disk. It is likely a transition disk because it exhibits weak CO emission with a relatively strong millimeter continuum, indicating that the disk might be currently dissipating its gas content. We used APEX to observe the two CI lines at 492GHz and 809 GHz in the disk orbiting CQ Tau. We compare the observations to several chemical model predictions. We focus our study on the influence of the stellar UV radiation shape and gas-to-dust ratio. We did not detect the CI lines. However, our upper limits are deep enough to exclude high-CI models. The only available models compatible with our limits imply very low gas-to-dust ratio, of the order of a few, only. These observations strengthen the hypothesis that CQ Tau is likely a transition disk and suggest that gas disappears before dust.

Discriminating between the physical processes that drive spheroid size evolution

Massive galaxies at high-z have smaller effective radii than those today, but similar central densities. Their size growth therefore relates primarily to the evolving abundance of low-density material. Various models have been proposed to explain this evolution, which have different implications for galaxy, star, and BH formation. We compile observations of spheroid properties as a function of redshift and use them to test proposed models. Evolution in progenitor gas-richness with redshift gives rise to initial formation of smaller spheroids at high-z. These systems can then evolve in apparent or physical size via several channels: (1) equal-density 'dry' mergers, (2) later major or minor 'dry' mergers with less-dense galaxies, (3) adiabatic expansion, (4) evolution in stellar populations & mass-to-light-ratio gradients, (5) age-dependent bias in stellar mass estimators, (6) observational fitting/selection effects. If any one of these is tuned to explain observed size evolution, they make distinct predictions for evolution in other galaxy properties. Only model (2) is consistent with observations as a dominant effect. It is the only model which allows for an increase in M_BH/M_bulge with redshift. Still, the amount of merging needed is larger than that observed or predicted. We therefore compare cosmologically motivated simulations, in which all these effects occur, & show they are consistent with all the observational constraints. Effect (2), which builds up an extended low-density envelope, does dominate the evolution, but effects 1,3,4, & 6 each contribute ~20% to the size evolution (a net factor ~2). This naturally also predicts evolution in M_BH-sigma similar to that observed.

The Detection of a Red Sequence of Massive Field Galaxies atz∼ 2.3 and Its Evolution toz∼ 0

The existence of massive galaxies with strongly suppressed star formation at z similar to 2.3, identified in a previous paper, suggests that a red sequence may already be in place beyond z = 2. In order to test this hypothesis, we study the rest-frame U - B color distribution of massive galaxies at 2 3 sigma) red sequence, which hosts similar to 60% of the stellar mass at the high-mass end. The red-sequence galaxies have little or no ongoing star formation, as inferred from both emission-line diagnostics and stellar continuum shapes. Their strong Balmer breaks and their location in the rest-frame U - B, B - V plane indicate that they are in a poststarburst phase, with typical ages of similar to 0.5-1.0 Gyr. In order to study the evolution of the red sequence, we compare our sample with spectroscopic massive galaxy samples at 0.02 10(11)M(circle dot)) of the red sequence grow by factors of similar to 8 and similar to 6, respectively. We explore simple models to explain the observed evolution. Passive evolution models predict too-strong Delta(U - B) and produce z similar to 0 galaxies that are too red. More complicated models that include aging, galaxy transformations, and red mergers can explain both the number density and color evolution of the massive end of the red sequence between z similar to 2.3 and the present.

Kinematic structure of the atmosphere and envelope of the post-AGB star HD 56126

We present a detailed analysis of the optical spectrum of the post-AGB star HD 56126 (IRAS 07134+1005) based on observations made with the echelle spectrographs of the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory with resolutions of R = 25 000 and 60 000 at 4012-8790 Å. The profiles of strong lines (HI; FeII, YII, BaII absorption lines, etc.) formed in the expanding atmosphere at the base of the stellar wind display complex and variable shapes. To study the kinematics of the atmosphere, the velocities of individual features in these profiles must be measured. Differential line shifts of up to ΔV r = 15–30 km/s have been detected from the lines of metals and molecular fetures. The stellar atmosphere simultaneously contains both expanding layers and layers falling onto the star. A comparison of the data for different times demonstrates that both the radial velocity and the overall velocity pattern are variable. The position of the molecular spectrum is stable, implying stability of the expansion velocity of the circumstellar envelope around HD 56126 detected in observations in the C2 and NaI lines.

Properties of Ellipticity Correlation with Atmospheric Structure from Gemini South

Cosmic shear holds great promise for a precision independent measurement of Ωm, the mass density of the universe relative to the critical density. The signal is expected to be weak, so a thorough understanding of systematic effects is crucial. An important systematic effect is the atmosphere: shear power introduced by the atmosphere is larger than the expected signal. Algorithms exist to extract the cosmic shear from the atmospheric component, although a measure of their success applied to a range of seeing conditions is lacking. To gain insight into atmospheric shear, Gemini South imaging, in conjunction with ground condition and satellite wind data, was obtained. We find that under good seeing conditions point-spread function (PSF) correlations persist well beyond the separation typical of high-latitude stars. Under these conditions, ellipticity residuals based on a simple PSF interpolation can be reduced to within a factor of a few of the shot noise induced ellipticity floor. We also find that the ellipticity residuals are highly correlated with wind direction. Finally, we correct stellar shapes using a more sophisticated procedure and generate shear statistics from stars. Under all seeing conditions in our data set the residual correlations lie everywhere below the target signal level. For good seeing we find that the systematic error attributable to atmospheric turbulence is comparable in magnitude to the statistical error (shape noise) over angular scales relevant to present lensing surveys.

The X-ray emission properties and the dichotomy in the central stellar cusp shapes of early-type galaxies

The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a dichotomy in the central surface brightness profiles of early-type galaxies, which have subsequently been grouped into two families: core, boxy, anisotropic systems; and cuspy (‘power-law’), discy, rotating ones. Here we investigate whether a dichotomy is also present in the X-ray properties of the two families. We consider both their total soft emission (LSX,tot), which is a measure of the galactic hot gas content, and their nuclear hard emission (LHX,nuc), mostly coming from Chandra observations, which is a measure of the nuclear activity. At any optical luminosity, the highest LSX,tot values are reached by core galaxies; this is explained by their being the central dominant galaxies of groups, subclusters or clusters, in many of the log LSX,tot (erg s−1) ≳ 41.5 cases. The highest LHX,nuc values, similar to those of classical active galactic nuclei (AGNs), in this sample are hosted only by core or intermediate galaxies; at low luminosity AGN levels, LHX,nuc is independent of the central stellar profile shape. The presence of optical nuclei (also found by HST) is unrelated to the level of LHX,nuc, even though the highest LHX,nuc are all associated with optical nuclei. The implications of these findings for galaxy evolution and accretion modalities at the present epoch are discussed.

A New Functional Role of the Fibrinogen RGD Motif as the Molecular Switch That Selectively Triggers Integrin αIIbβ3-dependent RhoA Activation during Cell Spreading

A number of RGD-type integrins rely on a synergistic site in addition to the canonical RGD site for ligand binding and signaling, although it is still unclear whether these two recognition sites function independently, synergistically, or competitively. Experimental evidence has suggested that fibrinogen binding to the RGD-type integrin alphaIIbbeta3 occurs exclusively through the synergistic gamma(400-411) sequence, thus questioning the functional role of the RGD recognition site. Here we have investigated the respective role of the fibrinogen gamma(400-411) sequence and the RGD motif in the molecular events leading to ligand-induced alphaIIbbeta3-dependent Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell or platelet spreading, by using intact fibrinogen and well characterized plasmin-generated fibrinogen fragments containing either the RGD motif (fragment C) or the gamma(400-411) sequence (fragment D), and CHO cells expressing resting wild type (alphaIIbbeta3wt), constitutively active (alphaIIbbeta3T562N), or non-functional (alphaIIbbeta3D119Y) receptors. Our data provide evidence that the gamma(400-411) site by itself is able to initiate alphaIIbbeta3 clustering and recruitment of intracellular proteins to early focal complexes, mediating cell attachment, FAK phosphorylation, and Rac1 activation, while the RGD motif subsequently acts as a molecular switch on the beta3 subunit to trigger cell spreading. More importantly, we show that the premier functional role of the RGD site is not to reinforce cell attachment but, rather, to imprint a conformational change on the beta3 subunit leading to maximal RhoA activation and actin cytoskeleton organization in CHO cells as well as in platelets. Finally, alphaIIbbeta3-dependent RhoA stimulation and cell spreading, but not cell attachment, are Src-dependent and phosphoinositide 3-kinase-independent and are inhibited by the Src antagonist PP2.

Determination of stellar shape in microlensing event MOA 2002-BLG-33

We report a measurement of the shape of the source star in microlensing event MOA 2002-BLG-33. The lens for this event was a close binary whose centre-of-mass passed almost directly in front of the source star. At this time, the source star was closely bounded on all sides by a caustic of the lens. This allowed the oblateness of the source star to be constrained. We found that a/b = 1.02^{+0.04}_{-0.02} where a and b are its semi-major and semi-minor axes respectively. The angular resolution of this measurement is approximately 0.04 microarcsec. We also report HST images of the event that confirm a previous identification of the source star as an F8-G2 turn-off main-sequence star.

New generation stellar models with rotation and internal gravity waves: The Li dip revisited

In this paper we explore the consequences of the interaction between internal gravity waves, rotation-induced mixing and atomic diffusion on the rotation profile and internal element distribution of main sequence low-mass stars. We present the first fully hydrodynamical models that include self-consistently element and angular momentum redistribution by these three mechanisms. We show how internal gravity waves extract angular momentum from the deep stellar interior and shape the internal rotation profile of solar-type stars. We compare predictions of our models with lithium observations in open cluster stars.

Importance of collisions with charged particles for stellar UV line shapes: $\ion{Cd}{iii}$

Stark broadening parameters, widths and shifts, for 84 spectral lines of doubly-ionized cadmium (Cd ) have been calculated using the modified semi-empirical approach (MSE). Calculated spectral lines belong to the transitions 4d 9 5s-4d 9 5p and 4d 9 5p-4d 9 5d. Widths and shifts of the spectral lines are given for temperature range of 5000 K-60 000 K and an electron density of 10 23 m −3 . The influence of collisions with charged particles on Cd  UV stellar lines along the HR diagram is discussed. Compared to the Doppler broadening, the influence of the Stark broadening mechanism is more important for deeper atmospheric layers and for larger values of log g. Stark broadening does not depend on turbulent velocity for the considered stellar model of a standard main sequence hot star of A0 spectral type. The influence of the Stark widths for standard models of DA and DB white dwarfs is also discussed.

Relativistic Stars with Poloidal and Toroidal Magnetic Fields and Meridional Flow

We investigate stationary axisymmetric configurations of magnetized stars in the framework of general relativistic ideal magnetohydrodynamics. Our relativistic stellar model incorporates a toroidal magnetic field and meridional flow in addition to a poloidal magnetic field for the first time. The magnetic field and meridional flow are treated as perturbations, but no other approximation is made. We find that the stellar shape can be prolate rather than oblate when a toroidal field exists. We also find that, for fixed baryonic mass and total magnetic helicity, the more spherical the star is, the lower the energy it has. Further, we find two new types of the frame-dragging effect that differ from the standard one in a rotating star or Kerr geometry. They may violate the reflection symmetry about the equatorial plane.

An Unusual Texture: Skeletal Sphalerite in Pyrite from Dajing Tin‐polymetallic Deposit, China

Abstract. Skeletal sphalerite with stellar, cruciform and snowflake‐like (or cauliflower‐like) shapes included in pyrite is widely found in the Dajing tin‐polymetallic deposit. It occurs only in chalcopyrite‐pyrite mineralization stage. The compositions of all sphalerites in the chalcopyrite‐pyrite stage are characterized by high Cu content (3.9 ‐ 7.0 wt% with a mean of 5.4 wt%), while the skeletal crystal sphalerite has higher zinc and cadmium contents, and lower copper and iron contents, compared with other sphalerites of the same stage. The skeletal crystal sphalerite in pyrite is possibly generated by exsolution.

The shapes of dark matter dominated dwarf spheroidal stellar density profiles

A Bayesian likelihood analysis of the stellar density profile shapes of several dark matter dominated Galactic dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) has been completed. This analysis indicates that the inner power law, \rho \propto r^{-\gamma}, of each of these profiles satisfies \gamma < 1.21 at greater than 99% confidence with a slight preference for \gamma \sim 0.7 . Speculating that this bound on the stellar profiles may be related to the inner power law of the underlying dark matter distribution reveals a statistical discrepancy with the values favoured by recent N-body simulations of cold dark matter (CDM), \gamma_{CDM} \sim 1.4-1.5 .

Growth of osteoblast-like cells on porous hydroxyapatite ceramics: an in vitro study

Blocks of two porous synthetic hydroxyapatites (HA) with porosity fraction of 30–40 and 50–60 vol%, respectively and a coralline derived porous HA were evaluated in vitro in presence of the osteogenic line MC3T3-E1 and of L929 fibroblasts. The two tested biomaterials did not affect cellular proliferation (MTT test), but the contact inhibited alkaline phosphatase activity. Porous aggregates resulted perfectly biocompatible in the tests performed, since observations performed by light microscopy did not show any cell morphological change, osteoblast presented a stellar shape and typical pseudopodes. SEM observations showed intercellular matrix containing fibers on HA-based porous aggregates.

Modeling the Interstellar Medium of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies: Constraining Internal Extinction, Disk Color Gradients, and Intrinsic Rotation Curve Shapes

We use a combination of three-dimensional Monte Carlo radiative transfer techniques and multiwavelength (BRHK, Hα) imaging data to investigate the nature of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the edge-on, low surface brightness (LSB) galaxy UGC 7321. Using realistic models that incorporate multiple scattering effects and clumping of the stars and the interstellar material, we explore the distribution and opacity of the interstellar material (gas+dust) and its effects on the observed stellar disk luminosity profiles, color gradients, and rotation curve shape. We find that UGC 7321 contains a small but nonnegligible dusty component to its ISM, yielding a B-band optical depth e,B ~ 4.0 from disk edge to center. A significant fraction (~50% ± 10%) of the interstellar material in the innermost regions of UGC 7321 appears to be contained in a clumpy medium, indicating that LSB galaxies can support a modest, multiphase ISM structure. In spite of the clear presence of dust, we conclude that the large radial optical color gradients observed in UGC 7321 and other similar LSB spiral galaxies cannot be accounted for by dust and must result primarily from significant stellar population and/or metallicity gradients. We show that realistic optical depth effects will have little impact on the observed rotation curves of edge-on disk galaxies and cannot explain the linear, slowly rising rotation curves seen in some edge-on LSB spirals. Projection effects create a far larger uncertainty in recovering the true underlying rotation curve shape of galaxies viewed at inclinations i ≳ 85°.

Algal morphogenesis: modelling interspecific variation inMicrasteriaswith reaction–diffusion patterned catalysis of cell surface growth

Semi–cell morphogenesis in unicellular desmid algae of the genusMicrasteriasgenerates a stellar shape by repeated dichotomous branching of growing tips of the cell surface. The numerous species of the genus display variations of the branching pattern that differ markedly in number of branchings, lobe width and lobe length. We have modelled this morphogenesis, following previous work by D. M. Harrison and M. Kolár (1988), on the assumptions that patterning occurs by chemical reaction–diffusion activity within the plasma membrane, leading to morphological expression by patterned catalysis of the extension of the cell surface. The latter has been simulated in simplified form by two–dimensional computations. Our results indicate that for generation of repeated branchings and for the control of diverse species–specific shapes, the loss of patterning activity and of rapid growth in regions separating the active growing tips is an essential feature. We believe this conclusion to be much more general than the specific details of our model. We discuss the limitations of the model especially in terms of what extra features might be addressed in three–dimensional computation.

Demonstration of feasibility of automated osteoblastic line culture in space flight

There is a large body of evidence that microgravit- or immobilization-induced bone loss is mainly related to osteoblastic cell impairment. Osteoblasts are sensitive to increased mechanical stress and could therefore be responsible for unloading-induced bone changes. However, the nature of osteoblast involvement remains unclear. The effects of the space environment on cells have been studied extensively, but little information about anchorage-dependent cell cultures of the 25 different cell types flown in space has been published. We studied the effects of long-term weightlessness on the cell shape of cultured osteoblasts during the Russian Bion 10 space-flight. This experiment required the development of special automatic culture devices (the plunger-box culture system) finalized with the constructors. Multiple feasibility experiments were performed to allow osteoblast culture for 6 days in microgravity. The study revealed plunger-box biocompatibility; optimization of ROS 17/2.8 (mammalian adherent cells) culture under closed conditions (without gas exchange); and transport of viable cells for 5 days. During the 6 days of microgravity, the growth curves of ground controls and cells in space were roughly similar. Alkaline phosphatase activity was enhanced twofold in microgravity. ROS 17/2.8 cell morphology began to change significantly after 4 days of microgravity; they became rounder and covered with microvilli. At the end of the flight, the cells exhibited mixed morphological types, piling cells, stellar shape, and spread out cells, resembling ground controls or 1g flight controls (centrifuge). We demonstrated that ROS 17/2.8 cells were viable during a 6 day automatic culture in space and were sensitive to space related conditions. They adapted their structure and function to this environment, characterized by loss of mechanical stimuli.

Spectroscopic Measurements of Stellar Rotation

This section title is identical to that of the first paper where the broadening of absorption lines in response to stellar rotation was discussed: Abney (1877).More accurate measurements now reveal also the details of stellar line shapes, making it possible to segregate the signatures of rotational and other broadening mechanisms: e.g. Gray (1992) and Smith &amp; Gray (1976). To determine the rotation, fits can be made to line profiles (e.g. Anders et al., 1993), to their Fourier transforms (e.g. Dravins et al. 1990;Smith &amp; Gray 1976), or to extended spectral regions (e.g. Kurucz et al. 1977).This review, however, concerns issues for [single-epoch] spectroscopic observations only, no temporal aspect will be discussed.What is observed is a rotationally broadened profile, the accuracy begins to get limited by the incomplete physical understanding of stellarline profiles and of the nature of stellar rotation. In order to disentangle the rotational broadening from other effects, one needs to know the ‘intrinsic’ (i.e. rotationally unbroadened) profile of the non-rotating star. How does this profile change with latitude and longitude across the stellar disk? What effects besides rotation are broadening the lines? What about mass loss, radial pulsation, non-radial oscillations, magnetic fields, spots, etc.? And the star might not even rotate as a rigid body, but perhaps differentially with respect to latitude and/or atmospheric height. All this has to be deduced from the often blended lines in complex spectra.