TY  - JOUR
A1  - Richardson, Noel D.
A1  - Shenar, Tomer
A1  - Roy-Loubier, Olivier
A1  - Schaefer, Gail
A1  - Moffat, Anthony F. J.
A1  - St-Louis, Nicole
A1  - Gies, Douglas R.
A1  - Farrington, Chris
A1  - Hill, Grant M.
A1  - Williams, Peredur M.
A1  - Gordon, Kathryn
A1  - Pablo, Herbert
A1  - Ramiaramanantsoa, Tahina
T1  - The CHARA Array resolves the long-period Wolf-Rayet binaries WR 137 and WR 138
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We report on interferometric observations with the CHARAArray of two classical Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in suspected binary systems, namely WR 137 and WR 138. In both cases, we resolve the component stars to be separated by a few milliarcseconds. The data were collected in the H band, and provide a measure of the fractional flux for both stars in each system. We find that the WR star is the dominant H-band light source in both systems (fWR, 137 = 0.59 +/- 0.04; fWR, 138 = 0.67 +/- 0.01), which is confirmed through both comparisons with estimated fundamental parameters for WR stars and O dwarfs, as well as through spectral modelling of each system. Our spectral modelling also provides fundamental parameters for the stars and winds in these systems. The results on WR 138 provide evidence that it is a binary system which may have gone through a previous mass-transfer episode to create the WR star. The separation and position of the stars in the WR 137 system together with previous results from the IOTA interferometer provides evidence that the binary is seen nearly edgeon. The possible edge-on orbit of WR 137 aligns well with the dust production site imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope during a previous periastron passage, showing that the dust production may be concentrated in the orbital plane.
KW  - binaries: visual
KW  - stars: individual: WR 137
KW  - stars: individual: WR 138
KW  - stars: mass-loss
KW  - stars: winds, outflows
KW  - stars: Wolf-Rayet
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw1585
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 461
SP  - 4115
EP  - 4124
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hommes-Schattmann, Paul J.
A1  - Neffe, Axel T.
A1  - Ahmad, Bilal
A1  - Williams, Gareth R.
A1  - Vanneaux, Valerie
A1  - Menasche, Philippe
A1  - Kalfa, David
A1  - Lendlein, Andreas
T1  - RGD constructs with physical anchor groups as polymer co-electrospinnable cell adhesives
JF  - Polymers for advanced technologies
N2  - The tissue integration of synthetic polymers can be promoted by displaying RGD peptides at the biointerface with the objective of enhancing colonization of the material by endogenous cells. A firm but flexible attachment of the peptide to the polymer matrix, still allowing interaction with receptors, is therefore of interest. Here, the covalent coupling of flexible physical anchor groups, allowing for temporary immobilization on polymeric surfaces via hydrophobic or dipole-dipole interactions, to a RGD peptide was investigated. For this purpose, a stearate or an oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) was attached to GRGDS in 51-69% yield. The obtained RGD linker constructs were characterized by NMR, IR and MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry, revealing that the commercially available OEG and stearate linkers are in fact mixtures of similar compounds. The RGD linker constructs were co-electrospun with poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO). After electrospinning, nitrogen could be detected on the surface of the PPDO fibers by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The nitrogen content exceeded the calculated value for the homogeneous material mixture suggesting a pronounced presentation of the peptide on the fiber surface. Increasing amounts of RGD linker constructs in the electrospinning solution did not lead to a detection of an increased amount of peptide on the scaffold surface, suggesting inhomogeneous distribution of the peptide on the PPDO fiber surface. Human adipose-derived stem cells cultured on the patches showed similar viability as when cultured on PPDO containing pristine RGD. The fully characterized RGD linker constructs could serve as valuable tools for the further development of tissue-integrating polymeric scaffolds. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KW  - electrospinning
KW  - RGD peptides
KW  - cell adhesion
KW  - biofunctionalization
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/pat.3963
SN  - 1042-7147
SN  - 1099-1581
VL  - 28
SP  - 1312
EP  - 1317
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Gvaramadze, V. V.
A1  - Kniazev, A. Y.
A1  - Miroshnichenko, A. S.
A1  - Berdnikov, Leonid N.
A1  - Langer, N.
A1  - Stringfellow, G. S.
A1  - Todt, Helge Tobias
A1  - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer
A1  - Grebel, E. K.
A1  - Buckley, D.
A1  - Crause, L.
A1  - Crawford, S.
A1  - Gulbis, A.
A1  - Hettlage, C.
A1  - Hooper, E.
A1  - Husser, T. -O.
A1  - Kotze, P.
A1  - Loaring, N.
A1  - Nordsieck, K. H.
A1  - O'Donoghue, D.
A1  - Pickering, T.
A1  - Potter, S.
A1  - Colmenero, E. Romero
A1  - Vaisanen, P.
A1  - Williams, T.
A1  - Wolf, M.
A1  - Reichart, D. E.
A1  - Ivarsen, K. M.
A1  - Haislip, J. B.
A1  - Nysewander, M. C.
A1  - LaCluyze, A. P.
T1  - Discovery of two new Galactic candidate luminous blue variables with Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We report the discovery of two new Galactic candidate luminous blue variable (LBV) stars via detection of circular shells (typical of confirmed and candidate LBVs) and follow-up spectroscopy of their central stars. The shells were detected at 22 mu m in the archival data of the Mid-Infrared All Sky Survey carried out with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Follow-up optical spectroscopy of the central stars of the shells conducted with the renewed Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) showed that their spectra are very similar to those of the well-known LBVs P Cygni and AG Car, and the recently discovered candidate LBV MN112, which implies the LBV classification for these stars as well. The LBV classification of both stars is supported by detection of their significant photometric variability: one of them brightened in the R and I bands by 0.68 +/- 0.10 and 0.61 +/- 0.04 mag, respectively, during the last 1318 years, while the second one (known as Hen 3-1383) varies its B, V, R, I and Ks brightnesses by similar or equal to 0.50.9 mag on time-scales from 10 d to decades. We also found significant changes in the spectrum of Hen 3-1383 on a time-scale of similar or equal to 3 months, which provides additional support for the LBV classification of this star. Further spectrophotometric monitoring of both stars is required to firmly prove their LBV status. We discuss a connection between the location of massive stars in the field and their fast rotation, and suggest that the LBV activity of the newly discovered candidate LBVs might be directly related to their possible runaway status.
KW  - line: identification
KW  - circumstellar matter
KW  - stars: emission-line, Be
KW  - stars: evolution
KW  - stars: individual: Hen 3-1383
KW  - stars: massive
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20556.x
SN  - 0035-8711
VL  - 421
IS  - 4
SP  - 3325
EP  - 3337
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lützow, Karola
A1  - Hommes-Schattmann, Paul J.
A1  - Neffe, Axel T.
A1  - Ahmad, Bilal
A1  - Williams, Gareth R.
A1  - Lendlein, Andreas
T1  - Perfluorophenyl azide functionalization of electrospun poly(para-dioxanone)
JF  - Polymers for advanced technologies
N2  - Strategies to surface-functionalize scaffolds by covalent binding of biologically active compounds are of fundamental interest to control the interactions between scaffolds and biomolecules or cells. Poly(para-dioxanone) (PPDO) is a clinically established polymer that has shown potential as temporary implant, eg, for the reconstruction of the inferior vena cava, as a nonwoven fiber mesh. However, PPDO lacks suitable chemical groups for covalent functionalization. Furthermore, PPDO is highly sensitive to hydrolysis, reflected by short in vivo half-life times and degradation during storage. Establishing a method for covalent functionalization without degradation of this hydrolyzable polymer is therefore important to enable the surface tailoring for tissue engineering applications. It was hypothesized that treatment of PPDO with an N-hydroxysuccinimide ester group bearing perfluorophenyl azide (PFPA) under UV irradiation would allow efficient surface functionalization of the scaffold. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy investigation revealed the successful binding, while a gel permeation chromatography study showed that degradation did not occur under these conditions. Coupling of a rhodamine dye to the N-hydroxysuccinimide esters on the surface of a PFPA-functionalized scaffold via its amine linker showed a homogenous staining of the PPDO in laser confocal microscopy. The PFPA method is therefore applicable even to the surface functionalization of hydrolytically labile polymers, and it was demonstrated that PFPA chemistry may serve as a versatile tool for the (bio-)functionalization of PPDO scaffolds.
KW  - biological applications of polymers
KW  - fibers
KW  - functionalization of polymers
KW  - microstructure
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/pat.4331
SN  - 1042-7147
SN  - 1099-1581
VL  - 30
IS  - 5
SP  - 1165
EP  - 1172
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Thiede, Rasmus Christoph
A1  - Arrowsmith, J. Ramón
A1  - Bookhagen, Bodo
A1  - McWilliams, Michael O.
A1  - Sobel, Edward
A1  - Strecker, Manfred
T1  - Dome formation and extension in the Tethyan Himalaya, Leo Pargil, northwest India
N2  - Metamorphic dome complexes occur within the internal structures of the northern Himalaya and southern Tibet. Their origin, deformation, and fault displacement patterns are poorly constrained. We report new field mapping, structural data, and cooling ages from the western flank of the Leo Pargil dome in the northwestern Himalaya in an attempt to characterize its post-middle Miocene structural development. The western flank of the dome is characterized by shallow, west-dipping pervasive foliation and WNW-ESE mineral lineation. Shear-sense indicators demonstrate that it is affected by east-west normal faulting that facilitated exhumation of high-grade metamorphic rocks in a contractional setting. Sustained top-to-northwest normal faulting during exhumation is observed in a progressive transition from ductile to brittle deformation. Garnet and kyanite indicate that the Leo Pargil dome was exhumed from the mid-crust. Ar- 40/Ar-39 mica and apatite fission track (AFT) ages constrain cooling and exhumation pathways front 350 to 60 degrees C and suggest that the dome cooled in three stages since the middle Miocene. Ar-40/Ar-39 white mica ages of 16-14 Ma suggest a first phase of rapid cooling and provide minimum estimates for the onset of dome exhumation. AFT ages between 10 and 8 Ma suggest that ductile fault displacement had ceased by then, and AFT track-length data from high-elevation samples indicate that the rate of cooling had decreased significantly. We interpret this to indicate decreased fault displacement along the Leo Pargil shear zone and possibly a transition to the Kaurik-Chango normal fault system between 10 and 6 Ma. AFT ages from lower elevations indicate accelerated cooling since the Pliocene that cannot be related to pure fault displacement, and therefore may reflect more pronounced regionally distributed and erosion-driven exhumation
Y1  - 2006
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1130/B25872.1
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Thiede, Rasmus Christoph
A1  - Arrowsmith, J. Ramón
A1  - Bookhagen, Bodo
A1  - McWilliams, Michael O.
A1  - Sobel, Edward
A1  - Strecker, Manfred
T1  - From tectonically to erosionally controlled development of the Himalayan orogen
N2  - Whether variations in the spatial distribution of erosion influence the location, style, and magnitude of deformation within the Himalayan orogen is a matter of debate. We report new Ar-40/Ar-39 white mica and apatite fission- track (AFT) ages that measure the vertical component of exhumation rates along an similar to 120-km-wide NE-SW transect spanning the greater Sutlej region of northwest India. The Ar-40/Ar-39 data indicate that first the High Himalayan Crystalline units cooled below their closing temperature during the early to middle Miocene. Subsequently, Lesser Himalayan Crystalline nappes cooled rapidly, indicating southward propagation of the orogen during late Miocene to Pliocene time. The AFT data, in contrast, imply synchronous exhumation of a NE-SW-oriented similar to 80 x 40 km region spanning both crystalline nappes during the Pliocene-Quaternary. The locus of pronounced exhumation defined by the AFT data correlates with a region of high precipitation, discharge, and sediment flux rates during the Holocene. This correlation suggests that although tectonic processes exerted the dominant control on the denudation pattern before and until the middle Miocene; erosion may have been the most important factor since the Pliocene
Y1  - 2005
SN  - 0091-7613
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hoke, Gregory D.
A1  - Garzione, Carmala N.
A1  - Araneo, Diego C.
A1  - Latorre, Claudio
A1  - Strecker, Manfred
A1  - Williams, Kendra J.
T1  - The stable isotope altimeter : do quaternary pedogenic carbonates predict modern elevations?
N2  - Stable isotope altimetry is a useful tool for estimating paleoelevation in sedimentary records. Yet questions remain regarding how source moisture, climate, and local topography can influence these estimates. Here we present stable isotope altimetry results on late Quaternary pedogenic carbonates of known elevation on both flanks of the Andean orogen at 33 degrees S. We measured delta O-18 values of pedogenic carbonates and river water samples from small drainages at regular elevation increments within the Rio Aconcagua (Chile) and Rio Mendoza (Argentina) catchments. The delta O-18 values of river waters correlate well with elevation and show similar isotopic gradients between the Chilean (-3.7 parts per thousand/km) and Argentine (-4.8 parts per thousand/km) sides of the range. Uncertainties associated with scatter in the river water data and assumptions about the temperature of carbonate formation indicate that elevation estimates have 1 sigma errors of 350-450 m. We estimate the isotopic composition of soil water from pedogenic carbonates on both sides of the range by assuming mean annual temperatures based the modern temperature lapse rate from meteorological station data. Combined, our data show that stable isotope altimetry produces reasonable estimates of modern elevation, with the majority of our samples (60%) within the 1 sigma uncertainties and 77% within 2 sigma.
Y1  - 2009
UR  - http://geology.gsapubs.org/
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1130/G30308a.1
SN  - 0091-7613
ER  -