Vaginal inspections using colposcopy before insertion of contraceptive vaginal rings and at 2-month intervals during ring use were conducted on 169 users of four different formulations. The rings ...studied released Nestorone® alone (50, 75, 100 μg daily over 6 months); ethinyl estradiol: Nestorone (30:100 and 15:150 μg daily over 6 months); ethinylestradiol:norethindrone acetate (20:1000 and 15:1000 μg daily over 4 months); and ethinyl estradiol:norethindrone acetate (20:1000 μg daily over 12 months). A total of 88 altered or atypical conditions of the vaginal surface appearance were recorded in 507 inspections (17.4% of inspections). Many of these atypical appearances were quite subtle. The incidence was significantly higher (p <0.01) than in the single pretreatment examinations (11 in 158 inspections; 7.0%), but closely matched that of a “control group” of sexually active women who were the subject of an earlier study by the same investigators. In that study, the incidence was 18% (57 atypical conditions in 317 inspections). In all, 83% of atypical conditions identified in the vagina during ring use had disappeared by the next scheduled colposcopy despite continued ring use. Findings of potential significance were conservatively defined as all ulcerations, those abrasions and ecchymoses that were >0.5 cm in any direction, and fields of five or more petechiae. Findings fitting those criteria comprised 30% of atypical conditions in ring users, 33% in the control group, and 27% pretreatment. The corresponding incidence as a percentage of inspections were 5.3%, 6.0%, and 2.5% in the ring users, control groups, and pretreatment groups, respectively. These differences were not statistically significant. The findings suggest that the vaginal rings included in the studies contributed little, if at all, to clinically significant lesions or to total lesion incidence. Further definition would require a larger and longer-term study with matched controls.
Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are peculiar active galactic nuclei (AGN). Most of them do not show strong radio emission, but recently seven radio-quiet (or -silent) NLS1s have been detected ...flaring multiple times at 37 GHz by the Mets\"ahovi Radio Telescope, indicating the presence of relativistic jets in these peculiar sources. We observed them with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) in A configuration at 1.6, 5.2, and 9.0 GHz. Our results show that these sources are either extremely faint or not detected in the JVLA bands. At those frequencies, the radio emission from their relativistic jet must be absorbed, either via synchrotron self-absorption as it occurs in gigahertz-peaked sources or, more likely, via free-free absorption by a screen of ionized gas associated with starburst activity or shocks. Our findings cast new shadows on the radio-loudness criterion, which seems to be more and more frequently a misleading parameter. New high-frequency and high-resolution radio observations are essential to test our hypotheses.
The high activity of 3C 454.3 in autumn 2007 Raiteri, C. M.; Villata, M.; Chen, W. P. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
07/2008, Letnik:
485, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Context. The quasar-type blazar 3C 454.3 underwent a phase of high activity in summer and autumn 2007 that was intensively monitored in the radio-to-optical bands by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope ...(WEBT). The γ-ray satellite Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini LEggero (AGILE) detected this source first in late July, and then in November–December 2007. Aims. We present the multifrequency data collected by the WEBT and collaborators during the second AGILE observing period, complemented by contemporaneous data from the UltraViolet and Optical Telescope (UVOT) onboard the Swift satellite. The aim is to trace in detail the behaviour of the synchrotron emission from the blazar jet, and to investigate the contribution from the thermal emission component. Methods. Optical data from about twenty telescopes have been homogeneously calibrated and carefully assembled to construct an R-band light curve containing about 1340 data points over 42 days. This extremely well-sampled optical light curve allows us to follow the dramatic flux variability of the source in detail. In addition, we show radio-to-UV spectral energy distributions (SEDs) at different epochs, which represent different brightness levels. Results. In the considered period, the source varied by 2.6 mag over two weeks in the R band. Many episodes of fast (i.e. intranight) variability were observed, most notably on December 12, when a flux increase of about 1.1 mag in 1.5 h was detected, followed by a steep decrease of about 1.2 mag in 1 h. The contribution by the thermal component is difficult to assess, due to the uncertainties in the Galactic, and possibly also intrinsic, extinction in the UV band. However, polynomial fitting of radio-to-UV SEDs reveals an increasing spectral bending towards fainter states, suggesting a UV excess likely due to the thermal emission from the accretion disc. Conclusions. Once the AGILE data are completely analysed, the low-frequency observations presented in this letter will offer a powerful tool to investigate optical-γ flux correlations, i.e. the relationship between the synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission components.
Thoroughly revised and updated, this authoritative and wide-ranging guide to the functional foods area contains over ten additional chapters on significant topics including omega-3 polyunsaturated ...fatty acids, consumers and health claims and functional foods for obesity prevention. Part One provides an overview of key general issues including definitions of functional foods and legislation in the EU, the US and Asia. Part Two focuses on functional foods and health investigating conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity and infectious diseases as well as and the impact of functional foods on cognition and bone health. Part Three looks at the development of functional food products. Topics covered include maximizing the functional benefits of plant foods, dietary fiber, functional dairy and soy products, probiotics and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). This book is a valuable reference tool for health professionals and scientists in the functional foods industry and to students and researchers.
We describe the processing of data from the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) used in production of the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (ERCSC). In particular, we discuss the steps ...involved in reducing the data from telemetry packets to cleaned, calibrated, time-ordered data (TOD) and frequency maps. Data are continuously calibrated using the modulation of the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation induced by the motion of the spacecraft. Noise properties are estimated from TOD from which the sky signal has been removed using a generalized least square map-making algorithm. Measured 1/f noise knee-frequencies range from ~100 mHz at 30 GHz to a few tens of mHz at 70GHz. A destriping code (Madam) is employed to combine radiometric data and pointing information into sky maps, minimizing the variance of correlated noise. Noise covariance matrices required to compute statistical uncertainties on LFI and Planck products are also produced. Main beams are estimated down to the ≈−10dB level using Jupiter transits, which are also used for geometrical calibration of the focal plane.
There is an urgent need to develop safe, effective, and acceptable vaginal products for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. Preliminary in vitro results suggest that vaginal ...formulations of sulfated polysaccharides, including iota-carrageenan, have the potential to block mucosal transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Twenty-five women in five sites participated in Phase I trials to evaluate the safety of a formulation containing iota-carrageenan (PC 213). The results of this study indicate that a 5 mL 2% gel formulation of iota-carrageenan is not associated with significant irritation of the female reproductive tract when administered once daily in the absence of sexual intercourse. Given the small number of participants in this initial study, careful observation for potential irritation must also be included in larger studies of this and other vaginal formulations.
We report a characterization of the multiband flux variability and correlations of the nearby (z=0.031) blazar Markarian 421(Mrk 421) using data from Mets ̈ahovi, Swift, Fermi-LAT, MAGIC, FACT, and ...other collaborations and instruments from 2014November till 2016 June. Mrk 421 did not show any prominent flaring activity, but exhibited periods of historically low activity above 1 TeV (F>1TeV<1.7×10−12ph cm−2s−1) and in the 2–10 keV (X-ray) band (F2−10 keV<3.6×10−11erg cm−2s−1),during which the Swift-BAT data suggest an additional spectral component beyond the regular synchrotron emission. The highest flux variability occurs in X-rays and very high-energy (E>0.1 TeV)γ-rays, which, despite the low activity, show a significant positive correlation with no time lag. The HRkeV and HRTeV show the harder-when-brighter trend observed in many blazars, but the trend flattens at the highest fluxes, which suggests a change in the processes dominating the blazar variability. Enlarging our dataset with data from years 2007 to 2014, we measured a positive correlation between the optical and the GeV emission over a range of about 60 d centred at time lag zero, and a positive correlation between the optical/GeV and the radio emission over a range of about 60 d centred at a time lag of 43+9−6d. This observation is consistent with the radio-bright zone being located about 0.2 parsec downstream from the optical/GeV emission regions of the jet. The flux distributions are better described with a lognormal function in most of the energy bands probed, indicating that the variability in Mrk 421 is likely produced by a multiplicative process.
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