Abstract
In this work we present the most comprehensive INTEGRAL active galactic nucleus (AGN) sample. It lists 272 AGN for which we have secure optical identifications, precise optical spectroscopy ...and measured redshift values plus X-ray spectral information, i.e. 2-10 and 20-100 keV fluxes plus column density. Here we mainly use this sample to study the absorption properties of active galaxies, to probe new AGN classes and to test the AGN unification scheme. We find that half (48 per cent) of the sample is absorbed, while the fraction of Compton-thick AGN is small (∼7 per cent). In line with our previous analysis, we have however shown that when the bias towards heavily absorbed objects which are lost if weak and at large distance is removed, as it is possible in the local Universe, the above fractions increase to become 80 and 17 per cent. We also find that absorption is a function of source luminosity, which implies some evolution in the obscuration properties of AGN. A few peculiar classes, so far poorly studied in the hard X-ray band, have been detected and studied for the first time such as 5 X-ray bright optically normal galaxies, 5 type 2 QSOs and 11 low-ionization nuclear emission regions. In terms of optical classification, our sample contains 57 per cent of type 1 and 43 per cent of type 2 AGN; this subdivision is similar to that found in X-rays if unabsorbed versus absorbed objects are considered, suggesting that the match between optical and X-ray classifications is overall good. Only a small percentage of sources (12 per cent) does not fulfil the expectation of the unified theory as we find 22 type 1 AGN which are absorbed and 10 type 2 AGN which are unabsorbed. Studying in depth these outliers we found that most of the absorbed type 1 AGN have X-ray spectra characterized by either complex or warm/ionized absorption more likely due to ionized gas located in an accretion disc wind or in the biconical structure associated with the central nucleus, therefore unrelated to the toroidal structure. Among 10 type 2 AGN which resulted to be unabsorbed, at most 3-4 per cent are still eligible to be classified as 'true' type 2 AGN.
ABSTRACT
The advent of new all-sky radio surveys such as the VLA Sky Survey and the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey, performed with the latest generation radio telescopes, is opening new possibilities ...on the classification and study of extragalactic γ-ray sources, specially the underrepresented ones like radio galaxies. In particular, the enhanced sensitivity (sub-mJy level) and resolution (a few arcsec) provides a better morphological and spectral classification. In this work, we present the reclassification of a Fermi/Large Area Telescope (LAT) source as a new Fanaroff–Riley II radio galaxy from the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory sample found to emit at GeV energies. Through a broad-band spectral fitting from radio to γ-ray, we find that the commonly invoked jet contribution is not sufficient to account for the observed γ-ray flux. Our modelling suggests that the observed emission could mainly originate in the lobes (rather than in the radio core) by inverse Compton scattering of radio-emitting electrons off the ambient photon fields. In addition, we cross-correlated the latest generation radio surveys with a list of Fermi/LAT candidate misaligned AGN from the literature, finding four new radio galaxies with a double-lobed morphology. Additional four objects could be classified as such thanks to previous studies in the literature, for a total of nine new radio galaxies with GeV emission presented in this work. We foresee that further objects of this class might be found in the near future with the advent of the Square Kilometer Array, populating the GeV sky.
Currently, there is an increasing interest on the development of topical formulations containing rosmarinic acid (RA) due to its well-documented antioxidant activity. This study aimed to develop and ...validate a stability-indicating ultra-fast liquid chromatography (UFLC) method for the determination of RA in nanoemulsions, porcine skin and nasal mucosa intended to be applied in permeation/retention studies and for development of topical nanoemulsions. Chromatographic separation was carried out using a C18 column packed with 2.6 μm particle size in isocratic conditions using as mobile phase water:acetonitrile (83:17, v/v), acidified with 0.1% trifluoracetic acid (v/v), with a total time of analysis of 3.5 min and detection at 330 nm. RA analysis was specific in the presence of both non-biological (blank nanoemulsion and receptor fluid) and biological matrices (porcine ear skin and porcine nasal mucosa). No interference of degradation products of RA was verified after different stress conditions such as acidic, alkaline, oxidative, light exposure (UV-A and UV-C) and thermal demonstrating the method stability-indicating property. The analytical (0.1–10.0 μg·mL−1) and bioanalytical (0.5–10.0 μg·mL−1) linearity was proved by analysis of the calibration curves of RA and no matrix effect was observed. The method was sensitive, precise and accurate, and showed recovery higher than 85%. The method was considered robust as evaluated by a Plackett-Burman experimental design. In the validated conditions, the RA was determined in the nanoemulsions obtained by spontaneous emulsification procedure (1.007 ± 0.040 mg·mL−1), porcine ear skin (1.13 ± 0.19 μg·cm−2) and nasal mucosa (22.46 ± 3.99 μg·cm−2) after retention/permeation studies. Thus, a highly sensitive, simple, fast and stability-indicating method was developed for RA analysis during the development of topical nanoemulsions and bioanalytical assays in complex matrices.
•A simple and fast analytical and bioanalytical UFLC method for RA was validated.•The method proved to be stability-indicating using different stress conditions.•The method was selective, linear, precise, accurate and robust with low matrix effect.•The method was able to estimate RA incorporated in pharmaceutical nanoemulsions.•The method was applied to assay RA in skin and nasal mucosa samples.
ABSTRACT
Giant radio galaxies (GRGs), with extended structures reaching hundreds of kpc, are among the most spectacular examples of ejection of relativistic plasma from supermassive black holes. In ...this work, third of a series, we present Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) images at 144 MHz, collected in the framework of the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey Data Release 2 (LoTSS DR2), for nine sources extracted from our sample of hard X-ray-selected GRGs (HXGRGs, i.e. from INTEGRAL/Imager on-Board the INTEGRAL Satellite and Swift/Burst Alert Telescope catalogues at >20 keV). Thanks to the resolution and sensitivity of LoTSS, we could probe the complex morphology of these GRGs, unveiling cases with diffuse (Mpc-scale) remnant emission, presence of faint off-axis wings, or a misaligned inner jet. In particular, for one source (B2 1144+35B), we could clearly detect a ∼300 kpc wide off-axis emission, in addition to an inner jet whose orientation is not aligned with the lobes axis. For another source (J1153.9+5848), a structure consistent with jet precession was revealed, appearing as an X-shaped morphology with relic lobes having an extension larger than the present ones, and with a different axis orientation. From an environment analysis, we found two sources showing an overdensity of cosmological neighbours, and a correspondent association with a galaxy cluster from catalogues. Finally, a comparison with radio-selected GRGs from LoTSS DR1 suggested that, on average, HXGRGs can grow to larger extents. These results highlight the importance of deep low-frequency observations to probe the evolution of radio galaxies, and ultimately estimate the duty cycle of their jets.
Several beneficial effects on the skin have been reported for coumestrol (COU), such as protection against photoaging and improvement of skin elasticity and thickness in postmenopausal women. However ...no reports on the effect of COU on wound healing were found. Nevertheless, COU has low aqueous solubility, which is a crucial limitation for biological tests. The present study was designed as a two-step experiment to evaluate the wound healing effect of COU. First, we used fibroblasts and the experimental in vitro artificial wound model, scratch assay, to compare the effects of COU free, dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM), or associated with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD). The 50 μM (66.1%) and 10 μM (56.3%) COU/HPβCD association induced cell proliferation and migration in inflicted wounds. Subsequently, the in vivo wound healing experimental model (Wistar rats) revealed that COU/HPβCD incorporated into hypromellose (HPMC) hydrogel had similar efficacy in wound healing in comparison to the positive control (Dersani®), with the advantage that 50% wound healing was achieved within a shorter period. In summary, the results successfully demonstrated, for the first time, the wound healing effect of COU/HPβCD incorporated into HPMC hydrogel and describe the feasibility of the biological tests with the use of HPβCD instead DMSO.
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ABSTRACT
PBC J2333.9−2343 is a giant radio galaxy at z = 0.047 with a bright central core associated to a blazar nucleus. If the nuclear blazar jet is a new phase of the jet activity, then the small ...orientation angle suggests a dramatic change of the jet direction. We present observations obtained between 2018 September and 2019 January (cadence larger than three days) with Effeslberg, SMARTS-1.3m, ZTF, ATLAS, Swift, and Fermi-LAT, and between 2019 April and 2019 July (daily cadence) with SMARTS-1.3 m and ATLAS. Large (>2 ×) flux increases are observed on time-scales shorter than a month, which are interpreted as flaring events. The cross correlation between the SMARTS-1.3 m monitoring in the NIR and optical shows that these data do not show significant time lag within the measured errors. A comparison of the optical variability properties between non-blazars and blazars AGN shows that PBC J2333.9−2343 has properties more comparable to the latter. The SED of the nucleus shows two peaks, that were fitted with a one-zone leptonic model. Our data and modelling show that the high energy peak is dominated by External Compton from the dusty torus with mild contribution from Inverse Compton from the jet. The derived jet angle of 3 deg is also typical of a blazar. Therefore, we confirm the presence of a blazar-like core in the centre of this giant radio galaxy, likely a Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar with peculiar properties.
We study the NH distribution in a complete sample of 88 active galactic nuclei (AGN) selected in the 20–40 keV band from INTEGRAL/Imager on Board the Integral Satellite (IBIS) observations. We find ...that the fraction of absorbed (NH≥ 1022 cm2) sources is 43 per cent while the Compton thick AGN comprise 7 per cent of the sample. While these estimates are fully compatible with previous soft gamma-ray surveys, they would appear to be in contrast with results reported by Risaliti, Maiolino & Salvati using an optically selected sample. This apparent difference can be explained as being due to a selection bias caused by the reduction in high energy flux in Compton thick objects rendering them invisible at our sensitivity limit. Taking this into account, we estimate that the fraction of highly absorbed sources is actually in close agreement with the optically selected sample. Furthermore, we show that the measured fraction of absorbed sources in our sample decreases from 80 to ∼20–30 per cent as a function of redshift with all Compton thick AGN having z≤ 0.015. If we limit our analysis to this distance and compare only the type 2 objects in our sample with the Risaliti et al. objects below this redshift value, we find a perfect match to their NH distribution. We conclude that in the low-redshift bin we are seeing almost the entire AGN population, from unabsorbed to at least mildly Compton thick objects, while in the total sample we lose the heavily absorbed ‘counterparts’ of distant and therefore dim sources with little or no absorption. Taking therefore this low z bin as the only one able to provide the ‘true’ distribution of absorption in types 1 and 2 AGN, we estimate the fraction of Compton thick objects to be ≥24 per cent.
The Schmid law, which is accurate for face-centered-cubic (fcc) metals, assumes that only the shear stress acting in the slip plane in the slip direction controls the plastic deformation. Hence, it ...is implicitly assumed that the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) for the slip is not affected by any other components of the applied stress tensor. This rule is almost ubiquitously utilized in large-scale continuum computations of plastically deforming single and polycrystals. On the other hand, in materials with more complex structures and for some orientations of the dislocation line the cores can spread onto several non-parallel planes. The most widely-known example is the screw dislocation in bcc metals, though this phenomenon is quite universal in structures that are not close packed. Signatures of such core configurations commonly include unexpected deformation modes and slip geometries, strong and unusual dependence of flow stresses on temperature and strain rate, a high Peierls stress, and, in general, a breakdown of the Schmid law. In this paper, we first summarize results of atomistic computer simulations of the response of 1/2〈1
1
1〉 screw dislocations to the applied shear stresses. The calculations have been made using central-force many-body potentials and tight-binding based bond-order potentials for molybdenum. While the core structure found is not the same for the two descriptions of atomic interactions, both lead to a very similar orientation dependence of the critical resolved shear stress for the dislocation motion which takes place along the most highly stressed {1
1
0} plane. This dependence reveals the break down of the Schmid law invoked by the effect of shear stresses acting in another {1
1
0} plane, which are called non-glide stresses. These results are then transferred to macroscopic level by formulating single crystal yield criteria that include the effects of non-glide components of the stress tensor. These criteria form a basis for multislip yield criteria and flow relations for continuum analyses. Using this approach we demonstrate that the effects of non-glide stresses that have their origin at the level of individual dislocations also have significant effect on polycrystalline response, including a significant tension-compression asymmetry.
ABSTRACT
Mrk 1498 is part of a sample of galaxies with extended emission-line regions (extended outwards up to a distance of ∼7 kpc) suggested to be photoionized by an AGN that has faded away or that ...is still active but heavily absorbed. Interestingly, the nucleus of Mrk 1498 is at the centre of two giant radio lobes with a projected linear size of 1.1 Mpc. Our multiwavelength analysis reveals a complex nuclear structure, with a young radio source (Giga-hertz Peaked Spectrum) surrounded by a strong X-ray nuclear absorption, a mid-infrared spectrum that is dominated by the torus emission, plus a circumnuclear extended emission in the O iii image (with radius of ∼1 kpc), most likely related to the ionization of the AGN, aligned with the small- and large-scale radio jet and extended also at X-rays. In addition a large-scale extended emission (up to ∼10 kpc) is only visible in O iii. These data show conclusive evidence of a heavily absorbed nucleus and has recently restarted its nuclear activity. To explain its complexity, we propose that Mrk 1498 is the result of a merging event or secular processes, such as a minor interaction, that has triggered the nuclear activity and produced tidal streams. The large-scale extended emission that gives place to the actual morphology could either be explained by star formation or outflowing material from the AGN.
Within the framework of our program (running since 2004) of identification of hard X-ray INTEGRAL sources through optical spectroscopy, we present the results concerning the nature of 33 high-energy ...objects. The data were acquired with the use of six telescopes of different sizes and from one on-line archive. The results indicate that the majority of these objects (23 out of 33) are active galactic nuclei (AGNs), whereas 10 are sources in the local Universe with eight of which in the Galaxy and two in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Among the identified AGNs, 13 are of Type 1 (i.e., with broad emission lines), eight are of Type 2 (with narrow emissions only), and two are X-ray bright, optically normal galaxies with no apparent nuclear activity in the optical. Six of these AGNs lie at high redshift (z > 0.5). Concerning local objects, we found that five of them are Galactic cataclysmic variables, three are high-mass X-ray binaries (two of which lying in the SMC), one is a low-mass X-ray binary, and one is classified as a flare star that is likely of RS CVn type. The main optical properties and inferred physical characteristics of these sources are presented and discussed.
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