Context.
The X-ray spectra of X-ray binaries are dominated by emission of either soft or hard X-rays which defines their soft and hard spectral states. While the generic picture is relatively well ...understood, little is known about the interplay of the various media at work, or about the reasons why some sources do not follow common behavior. Cygnus X-3 is amongst the list of X-ray binaries that show quite complex behavior, with various distinct spectral states not seen in other sources. These states have been characterized in many studies. Because of its softness and intrinsic low flux above typically 50 keV, very little is known about the hard X/soft gamma-ray (100–1000 keV) emission in Cygnus X-3.
Aims.
Using the whole INTEGRAL data base, we aim to explore the 3–1000 keV spectra of Cygnus X-3. This allows to probe this region with the highest sensitivity ever, and search for the potential signature of a high-energy non-thermal component as sometimes seen in other sources.
Methods.
Our work is based on state classification carried out in previous studies with data from the
Rossi
X-Ray Timing Explorer. We extend this classification to the whole INTEGRAL data set in order to perform a long-term state-resolved spectral analysis. Six stacked spectra were obtained using 16 years of data from JEM-X (3–25 keV), ISGRI (25–300 keV), and SPI (20–400 keV).
Results.
We extract stacked images in three different energy bands, and detect the source up to 200 keV. In the hardest states, our purely phenomenological approach clearly reveals the presence of an additonnal component > 50 keV in addition to the component usually interpreted as thermal Comptonization. We apply a more physical model of hybrid thermal/nonthermal corona (
EQPAIR
) to characterize this nonthermal component and compare our results with those of previous studies and analyses. Our modeling indicates a more efficient acceleration of electrons in states where major ejections are observed. We also evaluate and find a dependence of the photon index of the power law as a function of the strong orbital modulation of the source in the Flaring InterMediate state. This dependence could be due to a higher absorption when Cygnus X-3 is behind its companion. However, the uncertainties on the density column prevent us from drawing any firm conclusions.
Aims. Soft γ -ray emission (100 keV–10 MeV) has previously been detected in the hard state of several microquasars. In some sources, this emission was found to be highly polarized and was suggested ...to be emitted at the base of the jet. Until now, no γ -ray polarization had been found in any other state. Methods. Using INTEGRAL/IBIS, we studied the soft γ -ray spectral and polarization properties of Swift J1727.8−1613 throughout its outburst. Results. We detect a highly polarized spectral component in both the hard intermediate state and the early stages of the soft intermediate state above 210 keV. In the hard intermediate state, the polarization angle significantly deviates from the compact jet angle projected onto the sky, whereas in the soft intermediate they are closely aligned. This constitutes the first detection of jet-aligned polarization in the soft γ -ray for a microquasar. We attribute this polarized spectral component to synchrotron emission from the jet, which indicates that some of the jet might persist into the softer states.
IntroductionPatients with schizophrenia present severe communication difficulties in various linguistic areas. In the last two decades research has invested significant effort in trying to better ...characterize the linguistic profile of patients with schizophrenia, with the purpose to help and guide diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, speech data could be easily gathered through non-invasive techniques and are therefore seen as particularly promising by clinicians. However, surprisingly very little is known about interactional dialogue management, i.e. turn-taking, in these patients. ‘Schizophrenic autism’, the peculiar intersubjective experience also linked to anomalies in the sense of the self (‘Self-disorders’) presented by these patients, could be at the basis of an unusual turn-taking management.ObjectivesThe objective of the present study was to investigate turn-taking patterns of patients with schizophrenia and to explore their possible associations with psychopathological dimensions and subjective experiences.MethodsWe obtained double-channel audio-recordings from interviews with twenty patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and twenty healthy controls (HC). Participants answered general questions to elicit spontaneous dialogues, to improve the ecological validity of the task. The audio files obtained were then analyzed with Praat, a software widely used in experimental phonetics. We subsequently quantified a set of conversational metrics (participant floor occupation, mutual silence, overlap between speakers, speaking turn and pause duration). Patients also underwent a thorough psychopathological and phenomenological evaluation with the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Examination of Anomalous Self Experience scale (EASE) and the Autism Rating Scale (ARS).ResultsOur results show that the SCZ group displayed a reduced participant floor occupation, an increased mutual silence, and shorter speaking turns as compared to the HC. (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). We found significant associations between conversational features and psychopathology (Fig. 3). Two multivariate linear regressions showed that the participant occupation floor and the average speaking turn duration (dependent variables) were negatively related to the severity of negative symptoms and Self-Disorders. Interestingly, Self-Disorders were the best predictors of conversational engagement.Image:Image 2:Image 3:ConclusionsOur results, although preliminary, suggest the existence of peculiar turn-taking patterns in schizophrenia, linked to negative symptoms and disturbances of the subjective experience, particularly in the Self domain. Our results suggest also how the use of experimental linguistic methodology is applicable to clinical settings and underscores the importance of research projects in this field that are strongly interdisciplinary in both design and conduct.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
Introduction
Language and conversation are deeply interrelated: language is acquired, structured, practiced in social interactions and linguistic resources (specifically syntactic, prosodic and ...pragmatic aspects) contribute to finely tuning turn-taking. Nevertheless, most studies focused on verbal aspects of speech in schizophrenia, with scant attention to their relation to conversation, where language is experienced at most.
Objectives
The present study was aimed at investigating a possible association between language impairment and conversational characteristics in a sample of clinically stable patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (N = 35, ages 18-65).
Methods
A spontaneous speech sample was recorded. For the assessment of language skills, the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication (TLC) and the Clinical Language Disorder Rating Scale (CLANG) were used, while conversational variables were extracted with an innovative method of semi-automatic analysis. The possible associations were investigated through the Pearson Correlation.
Results
Figure 1 represents graphically the correlational matrix between conversational variables and linguistic scale scores. In the heatmap, blue means negative and red positive correlations, the stronger the colour, the larger the correlation magnitude. Moreover, the significant associations are indicated with stars.
Conclusions
The results suggest that in schizophrenia spectrum disorders the disturbances of language, at a syntactic, prosodic and pragmatic level, have significant impact on communicative interaction.
Thus, conversation analysis might be a promising method to quantify objectively communicative impairment with the benefit of representing an ecological assessment, examining the performance of patients in the real situation of language use, which is social interaction.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Context. 0.1–10 MeV observations of the black hole microquasar Cygnus X-1 have shown the presence of a spectral feature in the
form of a power law in addition to the standard black body (0.1–10 keV) ...and Comptonization (10–200 keV) components observed
by INTEGRAL in several black-hole X-ray binaries. This so-called “high-energy tail” was recently shown to be strong in the hard
spectral state of Cygnus X-1, and, in this system, has been interpreted as the high-energy part of the emission from a compact jet.
Aims. This result was nevertheless obtained from a data set largely dominated by hard state observations. In the soft state, only upper
limits on the presence and hence the potential parameters of a high-energy tail could be derived. Using an extended data set, we aim
to obtain better constraints on the properties of this spectral component in both states.
Methods. We make use of data obtained from about 15 years of observations with the INTEGRAL satellite. The data set is separated
into the different states and we analyze stacked state-resolved spectra obtained from the X-ray monitors, the gamma-ray imager, and
the gamma-ray spectrometer (SPI) onboard.
Results. A high-energy component is detected in both states, confirming its earlier detection in the hard state and its suspected
presence in the soft state with INTEGRAL, as seen in a much smaller SPI data set. We first characterize the high-energy tail components in the two states through a model-independent, phenomenological analysis. We then apply physical models based on hybrid Comptonization (eqpair and belm). The spectra are well modeled in all cases, with a similar goodness of the fits. While in the
semi-phenomenological approach the high-energy tail has similar indices in both states, the fits with the physical models seem to
indicate slightly different properties. Based on this approach, we discuss the potential origins of the high-energy components in both
the soft and hard states, and favor an interpretation where the high-energy component is due to a compact jet in the hard state and
hybrid Comptonization in either a magnetized or nonmagnetized corona in the soft state.
Introduction
Patients with schizophrenia show severe difficulties in interpersonal communication, including impairments in conversation skills, like the turn-taking. To our knowledge, very few ...studies to date have taken into account conversation analysis in order to investigate turn-taking in schizophrenia patients.
Objectives
To investigate the conversational patterns in schizophrenia patients; to assess possible associations between dialogic features, abnormal subjective experiences and symptom dimensions.
Methods
Thirty-six patients with Schizophrenia underwent an interview, subsequently analyzed with an innovative semi-automatic analysis. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was adopted for the investigation of psychopathology and Examination of Anomalous Self Experience (EASE) for Self-Disorders.
Results
Dialogic exchanges are graphically represented in Figure 1. An inverse correlation was found between participant speaking time and PANSS negative symptoms score (r = -0.44, p value < 0.05; Figure 2), whereas no associations were found between conversational variables and PANSS positive or disorganization dimensions. Finally, a positive correlation was found between the EASE item “spazialization of thought” and average pause duration (r = 0.42, p value < 0.05).
Conclusions
The finding of a relationship between negative symptoms and conversational patterns suggest that conversational features in schizophrenia are expression of the “core” negative dimension of the disorder. The association with the phenomenon of thought spatialization seems to suggest that the disturbances of the stream of consciousness impact on natural dialogic interactions. Ultimately, conversation analysis seems a promising tool to study dialogic exchanges of patients with schizophrenia.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Blueshifted X-ray absorption lines (preferentially from Fe XXV and Fe XXVI present in the 6–8 keV range) indicating the presence of massive hot disk winds in black hole (BH) X-ray binaries (XrB) are ...most generally observed during soft states. It has been recently suggested that the nondetection of such hot wind signatures in hard states could be due to the thermal instability of the wind in the ionization domain consistent with Fe XXV and Fe XXVI. Studying the wind thermal stability does require, however, a very good knowledge of the spectral shape of the ionizing spectral energy distribution (SED). In this paper, we discuss the expected evolution of the disk wind properties during an entire outburst by using the RXTE observations of GX 339-4 during its 2010–2011 outburst. While GX 339-4 never showed signatures of a hot wind in the X-rays, the dataset used is optimal for the analysis shown in this study. We computed the corresponding stability curves of the wind using the SED obtained with the jet-emitting disk model. We show that the disk wind can transit from stable to unstable states for Fe XXV and Fe XXVI ions on a day timescale. While the absence of wind absorption features in hard states could be explained by this instability, their presence in soft states seems to require changes in the wind properties (e.g., density) during the spectral transitions between hard and soft states. We propose that these changes could be partly due to the variation of the heating power release at the accretion disk surface through irradiation by the central X-ray source. The evolution of the disk wind properties discussed in this paper could be confirmed through the daily monitoring of the spectral transition of a high-inclination BH XrB.
Cygnus X-1, as the first discovered black hole binary, is a key source for understanding the mechanisms of state transitions, and the scenarios of accretion in extreme gravity fields. We present a ...spectral-timing analysis of observations taken with the Insight-HXMT mission, focusing on the spectral-state dependent timing properties in the broad energy range of 1–150 keV, thus extending previous RXTE-based studies to both lower and higher energies. Our main results are the following: a) We successfully use a simple empirical model to fit all spectra, confirming that the reflection component is stronger in the soft state than in the hard state; b) The evolution of the total fractional root mean square (rms) depends on the selected energy band and the spectral shape, which is a direct result of the evolution of the power spectral densities (PSDs); c) In the hard/intermediate state, we see clear short-term variability features and a positive correlation between central frequencies of the variability components and the soft photon index Γ(sub 1), also at energies above 15 keV. The power spectrum is dominated by red noise in the soft state instead. These behaviors can be traced to at least 90 keV; d) The coherence and the phase-lag spectra show different behaviors dependent on different spectral shapes.
We discuss applications of the study of the new and barely explored class of changing-look (CL) narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies and comment on their detection with the space mission SVOM (Space ...Variable Objects Monitor). We highlight the case of NGC 1566, which is outstanding in many respects, for instance as one of the nearest known CL AGN undergoing exceptional outbursts. Its NLS1 nature is discussed, and we take it as a nearby prototype for systems that could be discovered and studied in the near future, including with SVOM. Finally, we briefly examine the broader implications and applications of CL events in NLS1 galaxies and show that such systems, once discovered in larger numbers, will greatly advance our understanding of the physics of the environment of rapidly growing supermassive black holes. This White Paper is part of a sequence of publications which explore aspects of our understanding of (CL) NLS1 galaxy physics with future missions.
The administration of anesthesia has shifted away from the traditional hospital setting to an enormous increase in the use of outpatient facilities. The development of short-acting anesthetics, ...advances in surgical techniques, and paradigm shifts accepting targeted hospital admission and preoperative testing have allowed the acceptance of outpatient anesthesia for a wide variety of surgical procedures, including orthognathic procedures. Furthermore, the cost savings associated with office-based surgery and the declining insurance coverage for procedures such as orthognathic surgery have helped to increase the demand for surgery in this setting. The administration of anesthesia for orthognathic surgery in an outpatient setting requires preoperative preparation, preoperative patient assessment and selection, use of short-acting anesthetic agents and techniques, presence of emergency drugs and equipment, appropriate recovery protocols and staff, and the presence of adequate caregivers upon home discharge. Anesthetic techniques and agents allowing multiple orthognathic procedures to be performed in the outpatient setting are described.
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