| 1. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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The large observatory for x-ray timing
- 2014
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Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 9780819496126
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final downselection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supranuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1° collimated field of view) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the status of the mission at the end of its Phase A study.
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| 2. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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LOFT - The large observatory for x-ray timing
- 2012
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Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9780819491442 ; , s. 84432D-
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The LOFT mission concept is one of four candidates selected by ESA for the M3 launch opportunity as Medium Size missions of the Cosmic Vision programme. The launch window is currently planned for between 2022 and 2024. LOFT is designed to exploit the diagnostics of rapid X-ray flux and spectral variability that directly probe the motion of matter down to distances very close to black holes and neutron stars, as well as the physical state of ultradense matter. These primary science goals will be addressed by a payload composed of a Large Area Detector (LAD) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM). The LAD is a collimated (<1 degree field of view) experiment operating in the energy range 2-50 keV, with a 10 m2 peak effective area and an energy resolution of 260 eV at 6 keV. The WFM will operate in the same energy range as the LAD, enabling simultaneous monitoring of a few-steradian wide field of view, with an angular resolution of <5 arcmin. The LAD and WFM experiments will allow us to investigate variability from submillisecond QPO's to yearlong transient outbursts. In this paper we report the current status of the project.
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| 3. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT)
- 2012
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 34:2, s. 415-444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-time-resolution X-ray observations of compact objects provide direct access to strong-field gravity, to the equation of state of ultradense matter and to black hole masses and spins. A 10 m(2)-class instrument in combination with good spectral resolution is required to exploit the relevant diagnostics and answer two of the fundamental questions of the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision Theme "Matter under extreme conditions", namely: does matter orbiting close to the event horizon follow the predictions of general relativity? What is the equation of state of matter in neutron stars? The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT), selected by ESA as one of the four Cosmic Vision M3 candidate missions to undergo an assessment phase, will revolutionise the study of collapsed objects in our galaxy and of the brightest supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. Thanks to an innovative design and the development of large-area monolithic silicon drift detectors, the Large Area Detector (LAD) on board LOFT will achieve an effective area of similar to 12 m(2) (more than an order of magnitude larger than any spaceborne predecessor) in the 2-30 keV range (up to 50 keV in expanded mode), yet still fits a conventional platform and small/medium-class launcher. With this large area and a spectral resolution of < 260 eV, LOFT will yield unprecedented information on strongly curved spacetimes and matter under extreme conditions of pressure and magnetic field strength.
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| 4. |
- Soininen, E.M., et al.
(författare)
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Location of studies and evidence of effects of herbivory on Arctic vegetation: a systematic map
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental Evidence. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 2047-2382. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Herbivores modify the structure and function of tundra ecosystems. Understanding their impacts is necessary to assess the responses of these ecosystems to ongoing environmental changes. However, the effects of herbivores on plants and ecosystem structure and function vary across the Arctic. Strong spatial variation in herbivore effects implies that the results of individual studies on herbivory depend on local conditions, i.e., their ecological context. An important first step in assessing whether generalizable conclusions can be produced is to identify the existing studies and assess how well they cover the underlying environmental conditions across the Arctic. This systematic map aims to identify the ecological contexts in which herbivore impacts on vegetation have been studied in the Arctic. Specifically, the primary question of the systematic map was: “What evidence exists on the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation?”.Methods: We used a published systematic map protocol to identify studies addressing the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation. We conducted searches for relevant literature in online databases, search engines and specialist websites. Literature was screened to identify eligible studies, defined as reporting primary data on herbivore impacts on Arctic plants and plant communities. We extracted information on variables that describe the ecological context of the studies, from the studies themselves and from geospatial data. We synthesized the findings narratively and created a Shiny App where the coded data are searchable and variables can be visually explored.Review findings: We identified 309 relevant articles with 662 studies (representing different ecological contexts or datasets within the same article). These studies addressed vertebrate herbivory seven times more often than invertebrate herbivory. Geographically, the largest cluster of studies was in Northern Fennoscandia. Warmer and wetter parts of the Arctic had the largest representation, as did coastal areas and areas where the increase in temperature has been moderate. In contrast, studies spanned the full range of ecological context variables describing Arctic vertebrate herbivore diversity and human population density and impact.Conclusions: The current evidence base might not be sufficient to understand the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation throughout the region, as we identified clear biases in the distribution of herbivore studies in the Arctic and a limited evidence base on invertebrate herbivory. In particular, the overrepresentation of studies in areas with moderate increases in temperature prevents robust generalizations about the effects of herbivores under different climatic scenarios.
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| 5. |
- Barbero-Palacios, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Herbivore diversity effects on Arctic tundra ecosystems: a systematic review
- 2024
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Ingår i: ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 2047-2382. ; 13:1
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Northern ecosystems are strongly influenced by herbivores that differ in their impacts on the ecosystem. Yet the role of herbivore diversity in shaping the structure and functioning of tundra ecosystems has been overlooked. With climate and land-use changes causing rapid shifts in Arctic species assemblages, a better understanding of the consequences of herbivore diversity changes for tundra ecosystem functioning is urgently needed. This systematic review synthesizes available evidence on the effects of herbivore diversity on different processes, functions, and properties of tundra ecosystems.Methods Following a published protocol, our systematic review combined primary field studies retrieved from bibliographic databases, search engines and specialist websites that compared tundra ecosystem responses to different levels of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivore diversity. We used the number of functional groups of herbivores (i.e., functional group richness) as a measure of the diversity of the herbivore assemblage. We screened titles, abstracts, and full texts of studies using pre-defined eligibility criteria. We critically appraised the validity of the studies, tested the influence of different moderators, and conducted sensitivity analyses. Quantitative synthesis (i.e., calculation of effect sizes) was performed for ecosystem responses reported by at least five articles and meta-regressions including the effects of potential modifiers for those reported by at least 10 articles.Review findings The literature searches retrieved 5944 articles. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts, 201 articles including 3713 studies (i.e., individual comparisons) were deemed relevant for the systematic review, with 2844 of these studies included in quantitative syntheses. The available evidence base on the effects of herbivore diversity on tundra ecosystems is concentrated around well-established research locations and focuses mainly on the impacts of vertebrate herbivores on vegetation. Overall, greater herbivore diversity led to increased abundance of feeding marks by herbivores and soil temperature, and to reduced total abundance of plants, graminoids, forbs, and litter, plant leaf size, plant height, and moss depth, but the effects of herbivore diversity were difficult to tease apart from those of excluding vertebrate herbivores. The effects of different functional groups of herbivores on graminoid and lichen abundance compensated each other, leading to no net effects when herbivore effects were combined. In turn, smaller herbivores and large-bodied herbivores only reduced plant height when occurring together but not when occurring separately. Greater herbivore diversity increased plant diversity in graminoid tundra but not in other habitat types.Conclusions This systematic review underscores the importance of herbivore diversity in shaping the structure and function of Arctic ecosystems, with different functional groups of herbivores exerting additive or compensatory effects that can be modulated by environmental conditions. Still, many challenges remain to fully understand the complex impacts of herbivore diversity on tundra ecosystems. Future studies should explicitly address the role of herbivore diversity beyond presence-absence, targeting a broader range of ecosystem responses and explicitly including invertebrate herbivores. A better understanding of the role of herbivore diversity will enhance our ability to predict whether and where shifts in herbivore assemblages might mitigate or further amplify the impacts of environmental change on Arctic ecosystems.
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| 6. |
- Pfeiffer, L., et al.
(författare)
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DNA methylation of lipid-related genes affects blood lipid levels
- 2015
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Ingår i: Circ Cardiovasc Genet. ; 8:2, s. 334-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Epigenetic mechanisms might be involved in the regulation of interindividual lipid level variability and thus may contribute to the cardiovascular risk profile. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between genome-wide DNA methylation and blood lipid levels high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and total cholesterol. Observed DNA methylation changes were also further analyzed to examine their relationship with previous hospitalized myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns were determined in whole blood samples of 1776 subjects of the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg F4 cohort using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip (Illumina). Ten novel lipid-related CpG sites annotated to various genes including ABCG1, MIR33B/SREBF1, and TNIP1 were identified. CpG cg06500161, located in ABCG1, was associated in opposite directions with both high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (beta coefficient=-0.049; P=8.26E-17) and triglyceride levels (beta=0.070; P=1.21E-27). Eight associations were confirmed by replication in the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg F3 study (n=499) and in the Invecchiare in Chianti, Aging in the Chianti Area study (n=472). Associations between triglyceride levels and SREBF1 and ABCG1 were also found in adipose tissue of the Multiple Tissue Human Expression Resource cohort (n=634). Expression analysis revealed an association between ABCG1 methylation and lipid levels that might be partly mediated by ABCG1 expression. DNA methylation of ABCG1 might also play a role in previous hospitalized myocardial infarction (odds ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval=1.06-1.25). CONCLUSIONS: Epigenetic modifications of the newly identified loci might regulate disturbed blood lipid levels and thus contribute to the development of complex lipid-related diseases.
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| 7. |
- Barbero-Palacios, Laura, et al.
(författare)
-
Herbivore diversity effects on Arctic tundra ecosystems : a systematic review
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Environmental Evidence. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 2047-2382. ; 13:1
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Northern ecosystems are strongly influenced by herbivores that differ in their impacts on the ecosystem. Yet the role of herbivore diversity in shaping the structure and functioning of tundra ecosystems has been overlooked. With climate and land-use changes causing rapid shifts in Arctic species assemblages, a better understanding of the consequences of herbivore diversity changes for tundra ecosystem functioning is urgently needed. This systematic review synthesizes available evidence on the effects of herbivore diversity on different processes, functions, and properties of tundra ecosystems.Methods: Following a published protocol, our systematic review combined primary field studies retrieved from bibliographic databases, search engines and specialist websites that compared tundra ecosystem responses to different levels of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivore diversity. We used the number of functional groups of herbivores (i.e., functional group richness) as a measure of the diversity of the herbivore assemblage. We screened titles, abstracts, and full texts of studies using pre-defined eligibility criteria. We critically appraised the validity of the studies, tested the influence of different moderators, and conducted sensitivity analyses. Quantitative synthesis (i.e., calculation of effect sizes) was performed for ecosystem responses reported by at least five articles and meta-regressions including the effects of potential modifiers for those reported by at least 10 articles.Review findings: The literature searches retrieved 5944 articles. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts, 201 articles including 3713 studies (i.e., individual comparisons) were deemed relevant for the systematic review, with 2844 of these studies included in quantitative syntheses. The available evidence base on the effects of herbivore diversity on tundra ecosystems is concentrated around well-established research locations and focuses mainly on the impacts of vertebrate herbivores on vegetation. Overall, greater herbivore diversity led to increased abundance of feeding marks by herbivores and soil temperature, and to reduced total abundance of plants, graminoids, forbs, and litter, plant leaf size, plant height, and moss depth, but the effects of herbivore diversity were difficult to tease apart from those of excluding vertebrate herbivores. The effects of different functional groups of herbivores on graminoid and lichen abundance compensated each other, leading to no net effects when herbivore effects were combined. In turn, smaller herbivores and large-bodied herbivores only reduced plant height when occurring together but not when occurring separately. Greater herbivore diversity increased plant diversity in graminoid tundra but not in other habitat types.Conclusions: This systematic review underscores the importance of herbivore diversity in shaping the structure and function of Arctic ecosystems, with different functional groups of herbivores exerting additive or compensatory effects that can be modulated by environmental conditions. Still, many challenges remain to fully understand the complex impacts of herbivore diversity on tundra ecosystems. Future studies should explicitly address the role of herbivore diversity beyond presence-absence, targeting a broader range of ecosystem responses and explicitly including invertebrate herbivores. A better understanding of the role of herbivore diversity will enhance our ability to predict whether and where shifts in herbivore assemblages might mitigate or further amplify the impacts of environmental change on Arctic ecosystems.
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| 8. |
- Cockell, C.S., et al.
(författare)
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Darwin - an experimental astronomy mission to search for extrasolar planets
- 2009
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 23:1, s. 435-461
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As a response to ESA call for mission concepts for its Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 plan, we propose a mission called Darwin. Its primary goal is the study of terrestrial extrasolar planets and the search for life on them. In this paper, we describe different characteristics of the instrument.
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| 9. |
- Aharonian, Felix, et al.
(författare)
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Detection of polarized gamma-ray emission from the Crab nebula with the Hitomi Soft Gamma-ray Detector
- 2018
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Ingår i: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0004-6264 .- 2053-051X. ; 70:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the results from the Hitomi Soft Gamma-ray Detector (SGD) observation of the Crab nebula. The main part of SGD is a Compton camera, which in addition to being a spectrometer, is capable of measuring polarization of gamma-ray photons. The Crab nebula is one of the brightest X-ray / gamma-ray sources on the sky, and, the only source from which polarized X-ray photons have been detected. SGD observed the Crab nebula during the initial test observation phase of Hitomi. We performed the data analysis of the SGD observation, the SGD background estimation and the SGD Monte Carlo simulations, and, successfully detected polarized gamma-ray emission from the Crab nebula with only about 5 ks exposure time. The obtained polarization fraction of the phase-integrated Crab emission (sum of pulsar and nebula emissions) is (22.1% +/- 10.6%), and, the polarization angle is 110.degrees 7 + 13.degrees 2 /-13.degrees 0 in the energy range of 60-160 keV (The errors correspond to the 1 sigma deviation). The confidence level of the polarization detection was 99.3%. The polarization angle measured by SGD is about one sigma deviation with the projected spin axis of the pulsar, 124.degrees 0 +/- 0.degrees 1.
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| 10. |
- Aharonian, Felix, et al.
(författare)
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Hitomi X-ray observation of the pulsar wind nebula G21.5-0.9
- 2018
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Ingår i: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0004-6264 .- 2053-051X. ; 70:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present results from the Hitomi X-ray observation of a young composite-type supernova remnant (SNR) G21.5-0.9, whose emission is dominated by the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) contribution. The X-ray spectra in the 0.8-80 keV range obtained with the Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS), Soft X-ray Imager, and Hard X-ray Imager (HXI) show a significant break in the continuum as previously found with the NuSTAR observation. After taking into account all known emissions from the SNR other than the PWN itself, we find that the Hitomi spectra can be fitted with a broken power law with photon indices of Gamma(1) = 1.74 +/- 0.02 and Gamma(2) = 2.14 +/- 0.01 below and above the break at 7.1 +/- 0.3 keV, which is significantly lower than the NuSTAR result (similar to 9.0 keV). The spectral break cannot be reproduced by time-dependent particle injection one-zone spectral energy distribution models, which strongly indicates that a more complex emission model is needed, as suggested by recent theoretical models. We also search for narrow emission or absorption lines with the SXS, and perform a timing analysis of PSR J1833-1034 with the HXI and the Soft Gamma-ray Detector. No significant pulsation is found from the pulsar. However, unexpectedly, narrow absorption line features are detected in the SXS data at 4.2345 keV and 9.296 keV with a significance of 3.65 sigma. While the origin of these features is not understood, their mere detection opens up a new field of research and was only possible with the high resolution, sensitivity, and ability to measure extended sources provided by an X-ray microcalorimeter.
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