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Zn abundances, derived from a model atmosphere analysis of the 6362.35 A ZnI line, are presented for 44 thin disk, 10 thick disk and 8 halo dwarf stars in the metallicity range -1.0 [Fe/H] +0.2. It is found that [Zn/Fe] in thin disk stars shows a slight increasing trend with decreasing metallicity reaching a value [Zn/Fe] ~ +0.1 at [Fe/H] = -0.6. The thick disk stars in the metallicity range -0.9 < [Fe/H] < -0.6 have an average [Zn/Fe] ~ +0.15 dex, whereas five alpha-poor and Ni-poor halo stars in the same metallicity range have [Zn/Fe] ~ 0.0 dex. These results indicate that Zn is not an exact tracer of Fe as often assumed in abundance studies of damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs). A better understanding of the nucleosynthesis of Zn is needed in order to obtain more detailed information on the past history of star formation in DLAs from e.g. the observed sulphur/zinc ratio., 10 pages, 9 figures, use aa.cls

We performed an extensive non-LTE analysis of the neutral sodium lines of Na {\sc i} 5683/5688, 5890/5896, 6154/6161, and 8183/8195 for disk/halo stars of F--K type covering a wide metallicity range ($-4 \la$ [Fe/H] $\la 0.4$), based on our own data as well as those collected from the literature. For comparatively metal-rich disk stars ($-1 \la$ [Fe/H] $\la 0$) where the weaker 6154/6161 lines are best abundance indicators, we confirmed [Na/Fe] $\sim$ 0 with an ``upturn'' (i.e., a shallow/broad dip around $-0.5 \la$ [Fe/H] $\la 0$) as already reported by previous studies. Regarding the metal-deficient halo stars, where the much stronger 5890/5896 or 8183/8195 lines suffering considerable (negative) non-LTE corrections amounting to 0.5 dex have to be used, our analysis suggests mildly ``subsolar'' [Na/Fe] values down to $\sim -0.4$ (with a somewhat large scatter of $\sim \pm 0.2$ dex) on the average at the typical halo metallicity of [Fe/H] $\sim -2$, while they appear to rise again toward a very metal-poor regime recovering a near-solar ratio of [Na/Fe] $\sim$ 0 ([Fe/H] $\sim -3$ to -4). These results are discussed in comparison with the previous observational studies along with the theoretical predictions from the available chemical evolution models., 31 pages including 8 figures and 5 tables, accepted for publication in Chinese Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics

We report on chemical abundances for 15 old metal-rich stars in the solar neighborhood based on high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio observations. It is found that [O/Fe], [S/Fe], and probably [Ba/Fe] decrease with increasing metallicity, while the remaining elements, C, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, and Ni, generally have solar [X/Fe] ratios irrespective of metallicity. The kinematic data indicate a slight lag in the Galactic rotation for most stars. In combination with their low maximum distance perpendicular to the Galactic plane, Zmax, we suggest that most of the sample stars originate from the inner thin disk. This suggestion is supported by the similar abundance pattern of these stars as that of thin-disk stars. The connection of the old metal-rich stars with the old population of the inner disk suggests an inside-out formation of the disk. One exceptional case in our sample is HD 190360. It is suspected to be a thick-disk star based on the enhanced O, S, Mg, and Si abundances as well as the special kinematics, VLSR = -40 km s-1 and Zmax = 1.0 kpc. It shows that stars from a population other than the thin disk exist among old metal-rich stars in the solar neighborhood. The location of these stars, presently in the solar neighborhood, may indicate that orbit diffusion effects of old stars are quite significant.

An atomic force microscopy (AFM) image of a surface is a convolution of the tip geometry and sample features. It is important to develop tip characterisers and estimate the tip shape for a more accurate AFM image. With the traditional characterisers with special microstructures it is difficult to accurately determine tip shape because of their dimensional uncertainty. Combined with tip blind reconstruction algorithms, some nanomaterials with arrayed nanostructures are often used to estimate the AFM tip morphology. However, the blind reconstruction algorithms are sensitive to image noise. To solve such problems, the porous anodic alumina (PAA) film with well-ordered porous nanostructures was fabricated and used as a new tip characteriser. By setting the appropriate scanning routine and scanning mode, the two-dimensional and three-dimensional tip morphology was accurately calculated. PAA film as the AFM tip characteriser can effectively reduce the influence of AFM image noise and sample-dimensional uncertainty of tip blind estimation results, especially avoiding tip wear and damage.

We selected red horizontal-branch stars along the streams of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr) from sdss DR7 spectroscopic data using a theoretical model. We investigate the metallicity distribution of stars in the Sgr streams. The metallicity gradient is (−1.8 ± 0.3) × 10⊃3 dex deg−1 in the first wrap of the trailing arm and (−1.5 ± 0.4) × 10−3 dex deg−1 in the first wrap of the leading arm.

We have calculated the orbital parameters for 90 stars in Chen et al. and updated the kinematic data for stars in Edvardsson et al. by using the accurate Hipparcos parallaxes and proper motions, and recalculated the -element abundances in Edvardsson et al. in a way consistent with Chen et al. The two sets of data are combined in a study of stellar populations and characteristics of F & G stars in the solar neighborhood. We confirm the result of Chen et al. that a distinguishable group of stars may belong to the thick disk rather than the thin disk. The ages for the stars are determined using the theoretical isochrones of VandenBerg et al. The age-metallicity relation is investigated for dierent subgroups according to distance from the sun and galactic orbital parameters. It is found that a mixing of stars with dierent orbital parameters significantly aect the age-metallicity relation for the disk. Stars with orbits confined to the solar circle all have metallicities (Fe/H) > 0.3 irrespective of their distances from the sun or from the Galactic plane.

Based on high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra, we have derived accurate metallicities for 15 extrasolar planet host stars, as well as differential abundances for 16 other elements. The companions of three stars, HD 29587, HD 98230, and possibly HD 190228, have been shown to have masses in the brown dwarf regime and give an average value of the metallicities [Fe/H] = -0.44 ± 0.17. If we exclude these three stars, the rest of the sample stars are metal-rich relative to the Sun, covering the range from -0.12 to 0.41, with an average [Fe/H] value of 0.16 ± 0.17. The stars with planets show a slight overabundance pattern for [Na/Fe], [Mg/Fe], [Al/Fe], and [Sc/Fe]. On the other hand, [C/Fe], [O/Fe], [Si/Fe], [Ca/Fe], [Ti/Fe], [V/Fe], [Cr/Fe], [Ni/Fe], and [Ba/Fe] are approximately solar in the sample. The stars with planets also show underabundances for [K/Fe] and slight overabundances for [Mn/Fe], but stars with brown dwarfs show a contrary trend for these two elements. An interesting result is that sulfur displays enhanced values of [S/Fe], ranging from 0.04 to 0.40 through the sample. These results are used to investigate the connection between giant planets and high metallicity and to probe the influence of this process on the other elements.

We present the equivalent widths of 15 extrasolar-planet host stars. These data were based on the high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra obtained with the 2.16m telescope at Xinglong station. The error in the Xinglong equivalent width is estimated by a comparison of these data with those given in previous studies of common stars. The discovery of planets around main sequence stars provides us a most important oppor- tunity to understand the theories of the planetary system and stars. Much has been done in the way of detailed analysis of the chemical abundance of the extrasolar-planet host stars, that will lead to useful information on how systems with large planets have formed. In Zhao et al. (2002), we presented accurate metallicities and abundance ratios of many elements for 15 extrasolar-planet host stars with the aim of finding out whether all our sample stars follow the same planet-high metallicity relation and how this process acts on dierent elements by examining the ratios between elements with the same nucleosynthesis history. In this work, the equivalent widths for these stars are given, and these data are compared with other studies for the stars in common.

We present [O/Fe] and other α-elements/Fe ratios in a sample of 24 mildly metal-poor stars. The sample stars are thought to be brighter than 9.0 magnitude and have available uvby photometric data. Also, based on the typical LTE abundance analysis, we find that [Si/Fe] and [Ca/Fe] are correlated with each other. Combining the kinematic data and the metallicity, we can classify the sample stars into three groups. An abundance analysis shows some evidence that these groups are chemically discrete from each other. Further, the general trend of a decreasing overabundance of the α elements with increasing metallicity has been confirmed.

Abundance analysis of carbon and nitrogen has been performed for a sample of 90 F and G type mainsequence disk stars with a metallicity range of -1.0 < [Fe/H] < +0.2 using the Cl and N I lines. We confirm a moderate carbon excess in the most metal-poor disk dwarfs found in previous investigations. Our results suggest that carbon is enriched by superwinds of metal-rich massive stars at the beginning of the disk evolution, while a significant amount of carbon is contributed by low-mass stars in the late stage. The observed behavior of [N/Fe] is about solar in the disk stars, irrespective of the metallicity. This result suggests that nitrogen is produced mostly by intermediate-mass stars.

Background Hypoxia causes remodeling and contractile responses in both pulmonary artery (PA) and pulmonary vein (PV). Here we explore the effect of hypoxia on PV and pulmonary venous smooth muscle cells (PVSMCs). Methods Chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (CHPH) model was established by exposing rats to 10% O2 for 21 days. Rat distal PVSMCs were isolated and cultured for in vitro experiments. The fura-2 based fluorescence calcium imaging was used to measure the basal intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE). Quantitative RT-PCR and western blotting were performed to measure the expression of mRNA and levels of canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) protein respectively. Results Hypoxia increased the basal [Ca2+]i and SOCE in both freshly dissociated and serum cultured distal PVSMCs. Moreover, hypoxia increased TRPC6 expression at mRNA and protein levels in both cultured PVSMCs exposed to prolonged hypoxia (4% O2, 60 h) and distal PV isolated from CHPH rats. Hypoxia also enhanced proliferation and migration of rat distal PVSMCs. Conclusions Hypoxia induces elevation of SOCE in distal PVSMCs, leading to enhancement of basal [Ca2+]i in PVSMCs. This enhancement is potentially correlated with the increased expression of TRPC6. Hypoxia triggered intracellular calcium contributes to promoted proliferation and migration of PVSMCs.

Rationale Our previous studies demonstrated that bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) mediated, elevated expression of canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) largely accounts for the enhanced proliferation in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). In the present study, we sought to determine the signaling pathway through which BMP4 up-regulates TRPC expression. Methods We employed recombinant human BMP4 (rhBMP4) to determine the effects of BMP4 on NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in rat distal PASMCs. We also designed small interfering RNA targeting NOX4 (siNOX4) and detected whether NOX4 knockdown affects rhBMP4-induced ROS, TRPC1 and 6 expression, cell proliferation and intracellular Ca2+ determination in PASMCs. Results In rhBMP4 treated rat distal PASMCs, NOX4 expression was (226.73±11.13) %, and the mean ROS level was (123.65±1.62) % of that in untreated control cell. siNOX4 transfection significantly reduced rhBMP4-induced elevation of the mean ROS level in PASMCs. Moreover, siNOX4 transfection markedly reduced rhBMP4-induced elevation of TRPC1 and 6 proteins, basal [Ca2+]i and SOCE. Furthermore, compared with control group (0.21±0.001), the proliferation of rhBMP4 treated cells was significantly enhanced (0.41±0.001) (P

To investigate the effect of sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) on rat right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP), mean right ventricular pressure (MRVP), right ventricular hypertrophy index [RV/(LV+S)], pulmonary vascular remodeling, and PPARγ protein expression in pulmonary artery smooth muscle of monocrotaline (MCT) induced rat pulmonary hypertension model.The pulmonary hypertension model was established by subcutaneously injection of MCT, and the rats were treated with or without STS for 21 days. After that, RVSP, mRVP and RV/(LV+S) were measured. Lung histopathological sections were prepared, and the lumen area, the wall thickness and arterial radius of pulmonary arteries were quantified using the Image Pro Plus 6.0 software. PPARγ protein expression in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle was detected by Western blot.Compared with control group, the RVSP, mRVP were significantly increased in MCT group (P0.05), while in the MCT+STS group, it was decreased from (81.2 ± 1.9) and (28.6 ± 2.0) mmHg to (35.4 ± 8.3) and (14.1 ± 5.4) mmHg, respectively (P0.05). The RV/(LV+S) of MCT group was (0.57 ± 0.04), markedly higher than those of control group and control+STS group (0.33 ± 0.02) and (0.34 ± 0.02) , respectively, P0.05, while in MCT+STS group, the RV/(LV+S) was (0.43 ± 0.02), lower than that of MCT group (P0.05) ;The luminal area/total area of MCT group decreased to (27 ± 6)%compared with control rats (56.00 ± 3.00) % (P0.05) . The wall thickness/artery radius (WT%) of MCT group increased from (20 ± 4) % (control group) to (40 ± 3) % (P0.05) .In MCT+STS treated rats, luminal area/ total area and WT% were (39.0 ± 2.0) %and (31.0 ± 2.0) %, both statistically different from MCT group (P0.05) . The level of PPARγ protein in pulmonary artery smooth muscle of MCT group was (48 ± 4) %, lower than control group (100 ± 0) % (P0.05) .In the MCT+STS group, PPARγ protein expression was recovered (102 ± 3) %, (P0.05) .STS markedly decreased RVSP,MRVP, RV/(LV+S) and pulmonary vascular remodeling in MCT induced pulmonary hypertension rat, and PPARγ might be targeted as a key molecule during STS treatment.

Loud snoring is one of the principle symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Snoring sound analysis is a potentially cost-effective, reliable alternative for the diagnosis of OSA. However, no investigation has determined the accuracy of snoring signal analysis for the diagnosis of OSA in the Chinese Han population. Therefore, we investigated whether whole-night snoring detection and analysis aids the diagnosis of OSA using a new snore analysis technique. Snoring sounds were recorded using a non-contact microphone and polysomnography (PSG) was performed simultaneously throughout the night. We randomly selected 30 subjects each from four groups based on the severity of OSA. The rhythm and frequency domain of the snoring signal were analyzed based on frequency energy endpoint detection (FEP) and the Earth mover’s distance (EMD), for each subject to harvest the EMD-calculated Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHIEMD). Finally, we compared the AHIEMD with the PSG-monitored AHI (AHIPSG). The accuracy of the AHIEMD compared with the AHIPSG was 96.7, 86.7, 86.7, and 96.7 % in non-, mild, moderate, and severe OSA patients, respectively. AHIEMD was correlated with AHIPSG (r 2 = 0.950, p

Abundances of C, O, and Fe are determined for F and G main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood in order to study trends and systematic differences in the C/Fe, O/Fe, and C/O ratios for stellar populations. Carbon abundances are determined from the CI lines at 5052 and 5380 AA and oxygen abundances from the OI triplet at 7774 AA and the [OI] line at 6300 AA. MARCS model atmospheres are applied and non-LTE corrections for the OI triplet are included. Systematic differences between high- and low-alpha halo stars and between thin- and thick-disk stars are seen in the trends of [C/Fe] and [O/Fe]. The two halo populations and thick-disk stars show the same trend of [C/O] versus [O/H], whereas thin-disk stars are shifted to higher [C/O]. Furthermore, we find some evidence of higher C/O and C/Fe ratios in stars hosting planets than in stars for which no planets have been detected. The results suggest that C and O in both high- and low-alpha halo stars and in thick-disk stars are made mainly in massive stars, whereas thin-disk stars have an additional carbon contribution from low-mass AGB and massive stars of high metallicity causing a rising trend of C/O with increasing metallicity. However, the C/O ratio does not exceed 0.8, which seems to exclude formation of carbon planets if proto-planetary disks have the same composition as their parent stars., 13 pages, 15 figures, and 4 on-line tables. Accepted for publication in A&A

A detailed abundance analysis has been carried out from high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra of the G5IV star HD 190228, which is announced to harbor an extrasolar planet with MP sin i of 5.0MJ and an orbital period of 1127 days. Based on the model atmosphere of Te = 5180 K, log g =3 :7, t =1 : 3k m s 1 , we obtained (Fe/H) = 0:40, which puts it on the metal-poor tail of the metallicity distribution of the so far discovered 48 planet-harboring stars. The relative abundance, (X/Fe), indicates an overabundance of light elements (O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Sc) by 0.1{0.2 dex and the solar abundance of heavier elements (K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Ba). These elements show no conspicuous anomalies. The solar (C/Fe) seems to be slightly smaller than the average (but within the scatter) of eld stars of the same (Fe/H), and there is no clear trend of (X/H) with condensation temperature of the element. Neither the process of planet formation nor the stellar dilution during the subgiant stage seems to have polluted its chemical composition. The initially low metallicity may be explained by the suggestion that HD 190228 is accompanied by a brown dwarf instead of a planet.

We present a survey of lithium abundances in 185 main- sequence field stars with Teff between 5600 and 6600 K and [Fe/H] from -1.4 to +0.2 based on high-resolution spectra of 130 stars and a reanalysis of data from Lambert et al. (1991). The survey takes advantage of improved ways of determining effective temperature, metallicity, mass and age, offering an opportunity to investigate the behaviour of Li as a function of these parameters. An interesting result is the presence of a large gap in the Li-Teff plane, which distinguishes `Hyades-like, Li-dip' stars from other stars. These Li-dip stars have a well-defined mass, which decreases with metallicity. Stars above the gap, when divided into four metallicity groups, may show a correlation between Li abundance and stellar mass, but with a large dispersion that cannot be explained by observational errors or differences in metallicity and age, which ranges from 1.5 to 15 Gyr. This suggests that Li depletion occurs early in stellar life and that other parameters, e.g. initial rotation velocity and/or the rate of angular momentum loss, affect the degree of depletion. A comparison of the distribution of stars in the Li-[Fe/H] plane with evolutionary models of Romano et al. (1999) suggests that novae are a major source for the Li production in the Galactic disk., 11 pages, 8 figures, to appear in A&A

On the basis of high-resolution echelle spectra obtained with the Coude Echelle Spectrograph attached to the 2.16 m telescope at the Beijing Astronomical Observatory (Xinglong, China) for Sirius and Vega, we performed an elemental abundance analysis of 29 ions, in which 23 elements are included, with Teff = 9880, log g = 4.40, [Fe/H] = 0.50, and ξt = 1.85 km s-1 for Sirius and Teff = 9430, log g = 3.95, [Fe/H] = -0.57, and ξt = 1.50 km s-1 for Vega. The results show different abundance patterns for these two stars. The iron peak elements seem to be enhanced by about 1.0 dex in Sirius relative to Vega. Comparison with previous investigations is present.

The equivalent widths of total 546 lines (26 elements are included) in the spectrum of the bright Am star Sirius from 380 to 930 nm are tabulated. The high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectrum was obtained with the Coude Echelle Spectrograph attached to the 2.16 m telescope at Beijing Astronomical Observatory (Xinglong, China). Here we also give the results of the equivalent widths comparison between our measurements and those of Strom et al. and Sadakane & Ueta.

High resolution, high S/N spectra have been obtained for a sample of 90 F and G main-sequence disk stars covering the metallicity range -1.0 < [Fe/H] < +0.1, and have been analysed in a parallel way to the work of Edvardsson et al. (1993). Effective temperatures are based on the Alonso et al. (1996) calibration of color indices and surface gravities are calculated from Hipparcos parallaxes, which also allow more accurate ages to be calculated. In addition, more reliable kinematical parameters are derived from Hipparcos distances and proper motions. Finally, a larger spectral coverage, 5600 - 8800 A, makes it possible to improve the abundance accuracy by studying more lines and to discuss several elements not included in the work of Edvardsson et al. The present paper provides the data and discusses some general results of the abundance survey. A group of stars in the metallicity range of -1.0 < [Fe/H] < -0.6 having a small mean Galactocentric distance in the stellar orbits, Rm < 7 kpc, are shown to be older than the other disk stars and probably belong to the thick disk. Excluding these stars, a slight decreasing trend of [Fe/H] with increasing Rm and age is found, but a large scatter in [Fe/H] (up to 0.5 dex) is present at a given age and Rm. The derived trends of O, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Ni and Ba as a function of [Fe/H] agree rather well with those of Edvardsson et al., but the overabundance of Na and Al for metal-poor stars found in their work is not confirmed. Furthermore, the Galactic evolution of elements not included in Edvardsson et al., K, V and Cr, is studied., 16 pages with 10 figures. Accepted for publication in A&AS

We have measured the CH G band (CH(G)) index for evolved stars in the globular cluster M3 based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic survey. It is found that there is a useful way to select red giant branch (RGB) stars from the contamination of other evolved stars such as asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and red horizontal branch (RHB) stars by using the CH(G) index versus (g-r) diagram if the metallicity is known from the spectra. When this diagram is applied to field giant stars with similar metallicity, we establish a calibration of CH(G)=1.625(g-r)-1.174(g-r)^2-0.934. This method is confirmed by stars with [Fe/H]~2.3 where spectra of member stars in globular clusters M15 and M92 are available in the SDSS database. We thus extend this kind of calibration to every individual metallicity bin ranging from [Fe/H] ~ -3.0 to [Fe/H] ~ 0.0 by using field red giant stars with 0.4 < (g-r) < 1.0. The metallicity-dependent calibrations give CH(G) =1.625(g-r)-1.174(g-r)^2+ 0.060[Fe/H]-0.830 for -3.0 < [Fe/H], Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures

Based on the high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra collected with the coudé echelle spectrograph attached to the 2.16m telescope at Beijing Astronomical Observatory, we determined the chemical abundance patterns for a sample of six planet-harboring stars. The result is used to investigate the connection between giant planet and high metallicity and to probe the influence of this process on other elements.

Danshen, the dried root of Salvia miltiorrhiza, is widely used in clinics in China for treating various diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS), a water-soluble derivative of tanshinone IIA isolated as the major active component from Danshen, was recently reported to be effective in attenuating the characteristic pulmonary vascular changes associated with chronically hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (CHPH); however, the underlying detailed mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of STS on basal intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) and store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE) in distal pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) exposed to prolonged hypoxia or isolated from CHPH rats. SOCE measured by Mn(2+) quenching of Fura-2 fluorescence in PASMCs from rats exposed to chronic hypoxia (10% O(2), 21 d) was increased by 59%, and basal [Ca(2+)](i) was increased by 119%; this effect was inhibited by intraperitoneal injection of STS. These inhibitory effects of STS on hypoxic increases of SOCE and basal [Ca(2+)](i) were associated with reduced expression of canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC)1 and TRPC6 in distal pulmonary arterial smooth muscle and decreases on right ventricular pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and peripheral pulmonary vessel thickening. In ex vivo cultured distal PASMCs from normoxic rats, STS (0-25 μM) dose-dependently inhibited hypoxia-induced cell proliferation and migration, paralleled with attenuation in increases of basal [Ca(2+)](i), SOCE, mRNA, and protein expression of TRPC1 and TRPC6. STS also relieved right ventricular systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and TRPC1 and TRPC6 protein expression in distal pulmonary arteries in a monocrotaline-induced rat model of pulmonary arterial hypertension. These results indicate that STS prevents pulmonary arterial hypertension development likely by inhibiting TRPC1 and TRPC6 expression, resulting in normalized basal [Ca(2+)](i) and attenuated proliferation and migration of PASMCs.

We have selelcted 556 Red Horizontal Branch (RHB) stars along the streams of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr) from SDSS DR7 spectroscopic data using a theoretical model. The metallicity and \alpha-elements distributions are investigated for stars in the Sgr streams and for Galactic stars at the same locations. We find that the Sgr stars have two peaks in the metallicity distribution while the Galactic stars have a more prominent metal-poor peak. Meanwhile, [\alpha/Fe] ratios of the Sgr stars are lower than those of the Galactic stars. Among the Sgr stars, we find a difference in the metallicity distribution between the leading and trailing arms of the Sgr tidal tails. The metallicity and [\alpha/Fe] distribution of the leading arm is similar to that of the Galaxy. The trailing arm is composed mainly of a metal rich component and [\alpha/Fe] is obviously lower than that of the Galactic stars. The metallicity gradient is -(1.8 \pm 0.3)\times10^{-3} dex degree^{-1} in the first wrap of the trailing arm and -(1.5 \pm 0.4)\times10^{-3} dex degree^{-1} in the first wrap of the leading arm. No significant gradient exists along the second wraps of the leading or trailing arms. It seems that the Sgr dwarf galaxy initially lost the metal poor component in the second wrap (older) arms due to the tidal force of our Galaxy and then the metal rich component is disrupted in the first wrap (younger) arms. Finally, we found that the velocity dispersion of the trailing arm from 88^\circ, Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

The differences between the neutron-capture element abundances of halo stars are important to our understanding of the nucleosynthesis of elements heavier than the iron group. We present a detailed abundance analysis of carbon and twelve neutron-capture elements from Sr up to Pb for a peculiar halo star G24-25 with [Fe/H] = -1.4 in order to probe its origin. The equivalent widths of unblended lines are measured from high resolution NOT/FIES spectra and used to derive abundances based on Kurucz model atmospheres. In the case of CH, Pr, Eu, Gd, and Pb lines, the abundances are derived by fitting synthetic profiles to the observed spectra. Abundance analyses are performed both relative to the Sun and to a normal halo star G16-20 that has similar stellar parameters as G24-25. We find that G24-25 is a halo subgiant star with an unseen component. It has large overabundances of carbon and heavy s-process elements and mild overabundances of Eu and light s-process elements. This abundance distribution is consistent with that of a typical CH giant. The abundance pattern can be explained by mass transfer from a former asymptotic giant branch component, which is now a white dwarf., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Based on high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) spectra analysis of 90 solar type stars, we have established several new metallicity calibrations in Teff range [5600, 6500] K based on red spectra with the wavelength range of 560-880 nm. The new metallicity calibrations are applied to determine the metallicity of solar analogs selected from SDSS spectra. There is a good consistent result with the adopted value presented in SDSS-DR7 and a small scatter of 0.26 dex for stars with S/N > 50 is obtained. This study provides a new reliable way to derive the metallicity for solar-like stars with low resolution spectra. In particular, our calibrations are useful for finding metal-rich stars, which are missing in SSPP., 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in RAA

On the basis of a recently derived color-metallicity relation and stellar parameters from the Sloan Digtal Sky Survey Data Release 7 spectroscopic survey, a large sample of red horizontal branch candidates have been selected to serve as standard candles. The metallicity and kinematic distributions of these stars indicate that they mainly originate from the thick-disk and the halo populations. The typical thick disk is characterized by the first group peaking at [Fe/H] ~ -0.6, Vrot ~ 170 km/s with a vertical scale height around |Z| ~ 1.2 kpc, while stars with [Fe/H] < -0.9 are dominated by the halo population. Two sub-populations of the halo are suggested by the RHB stars peaking at [Fe/H] ~-1.3: one component with Vrot > 0 km/s (Halo I) shows a sign of metallicity gradient in the [Fe/H] versus |Z| diagram, while the other with Vrot < 0 km/s (Halo II) does not. The Halo I mainly clumps at the inner halo with R < 10 kpc and the Halo II comes both from the inner halo with R < 10 kpc and the outer halo with R > 10 kpc based on the star distribution in the R versus |Z| diagram., 10 pages, 15 figures

In current multi-hop relay networks (MRNs), normally the communication path is not optimized, especially when two mobile stations (MSs) attached to the same relay station (RS) need to communicate with each other. In this paper, a novel data transmission scheme: administrable and controllable local forwarding for OFDMA-TDD based two-hop relay cellular networks, is proposed. In the local forwarding mode, data transmission between two MSs attached to the same RS is forwarded without necessarily being sent to the base station (BS). Thereby the spectral efficiency is improved. And then two cost based relay selection schemes (RSSs) are proposed for the efficient usage of local forwarding mode. The first is a modified traditional RSS (RSS-MT), which implements local forwarding after relay selection. And the second is a local forwarding-based RSS (RSS-LF), which takes the advantages of the local forwarding into account during relay selection. Numerical and simulation results show that the local forwarding transmission schemes can improve the system capacity greatly. Moreover, the performance of RSS-LF is shown to be superior to that of RSS-MT.

Based on the kernel estimator and wavelet technique, we have identified 22 moving group candidates in the solar neighborhood from a sample which includes around 14,000 dwarfs and 6000 giants. Six of them were previously known as the Hercules stream, the Sirus-UMa stream, the Hyades stream, the Caster group, the Pleiades stream, and the IC 2391; five of them have also been reported by other authors. 11 moving group candidates, not previously reported in the literature, showprominent structures in dwarf or giant samples.Acatalog of moving group candidates in the solar neighborhood is presented in this work., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters

Based on photometric data of the central parts of eight globular clusters and one open cluster presented by An and his collaborators, we select red horizontal branch (RHB) stars in the (g-r)0-g0 diagram and make a statistical study of the distributions of their colors and absolute magnitudes in the SDSS ugriz system. Meanwhile, absolute magnitudes in the Johnson VRI system are calculated through the translation formulae between gri and VRI in the literature. The calibrations of absolute magnitude as functions of metallicity and age are established by linear regressions of the data. It is found that metallicity coefficients in these calibrations decrease, while age coefficients increase, from the blue $u$ filter to the red $z$ filter. The calibration of Mi= 0.06[Fe/H]+0.040t+0.03 has the smallest scatter of 0.04 mag, and thus i is the best filter in the $ugriz$ system when RHB stars are used for distance indicators. The comparison of the MI calibration from our data with that from red clump stars indicates that the previous suggestion that the $I$ filter is better than the V filter in distance determination may not be true because of its significant dependence on age., Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, accepted by ApJ

We report the detection of a substellar companion orbiting the intermediate-mass giant star 11 Com (G8 III). Precise Doppler measurements of the star from Xinglong station and Okayama Astrophysical Observatory (OAO) revealed Keplerian velocity variations with an orbital period of 326.03 +/- 0.32 days, a semiamplitude of 302.8 +/- 2.6 m/s, and an eccentricity of 0.231 +/- 0.005. Adopting a stellar mass of 2.7 +/- 0.3 M_solar, the minimum mass of the companion is 19.4 +/- 1.5 M_Jup, well above the deuterium burning limit, and the semimajor axis is 1.29 +/- 0.05 AU. This is the first result from the joint planet search program between China and Japan aiming at revealing statistics of substellar companions around intermediate-mass giants. 11 Com b emerged from 300 targets of the planet search program at OAO. The current detection rate of a brown dwarf candidate seems to be comparable to that around solar-type stars within orbital separations of $\sim$3 AU., 19 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJ

Based on high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra, we present abundances of 17 elements (Fe, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Y, Zr, Ba, La) for six stars (one Am star, one F dwarf star, and four GK giant stars) and radial velocities for 18 proper-motion selected member stars in the open cluster NGC 2632. In the Am star, s-process elements Y and Ba are clearly overabundant, which may be considered as an indicator of a peculiar Am star. The average [Fe/H] is 0.16 ± 0.06 from four GK giant member stars, which is similar to that of solar-type stars in the literature. As compared with dwarf stars, significant overabundances are found for Na, Mg, and Ba elements in our giant stars, which can be explained by the evolutionary effect. We also detect a star-to-star scatter of [Na/Fe] ratios among four giants which locate approximately at the same position in the CMD. Finally, we perform an analysis on the possible connection between the abundance and spatial structure of NGC 2632, but we find no inhomogeneous abundance among different clumps of stars in this cluster based on our limited sample.

Context. Principal component analysis (PCA) is widely used to repair incomplete spectra, to perform spectral denoising, and to reduce dimensionality. Presently, no method has been found to be comparable to PCA on these three problems. New methods have been proposed, but are often specific to one problem. For example, locally linear embedding outperforms PCA in dimensionality reduction. However, it cannot be used in spectral denoising and spectral reparing. Wavelet transform can be used to denoise spectra; however, it cannot be used in dimensionality reduction.Aims. We provide a new method that can substitute PCA in incomplete spectra repairing, spectral denoising and spectral dimensionality reduction.Methods. A new method, restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), is introduced in spectral processing. RBM is a particular type of Markov random field with two-layer architecture, and use Gibbs sampling method to train the algorithm. It can be used in spectral denoising, dimensionality reduction and spectral repairing.Results. The performance of RBM is comparable to PCA in spectral processing. It can repair the incomplete spectra better: the difference between the RBM repaired spectra and the original spectra is smaller than that between the PCA repaired spectra and the original spectra. The denoised spectra given by RBM is similar to those given by PCA. In dimensionality reduction, RBM performs better than PCA: the classification results of RBM+ELM (i.e. the extreme learning machine) is higher than those of PCA+ELM. This shows that RBM can extract the spectral features more efficiently than PCA. Thus, RBM is a good alternative method for PCA in spectral processing.

WRAN system is a new standard under establishment to improve the efficiency of spectrum utilization and spectrum allocation scheme is one of its key techniques. In this paper, one spectrum allocation scheme called ?pre-allocation and local bargaining? is proposed to avoid intra-cell and inter-cell co-channel interference among users. Based on color sensitive graph coloring problem and local bargaining, our scheme has the ability to guarantee the fairness among users and satisfy the user?s minimum requirement of spectrum bandwidth.

In an OFDM system, dynamic frequency selection is an approach to efficiently improve the spectrum usage. According to the channel magnitude response, each user selects the subcarriers with the highest channel gain. The existing algorithm divides the whole subcarriers into partitions, and each user selects one for simplicity. To get better performance, a larger number of partitions with less subcarriers is needed. The existing algorithm is modified by increasing the successful allocation probability to allocate more partitions to each user. And to guarantee cooperation among users, the higher priority to allocate is given to the user which has the largest amount of deep fading partitions.

The searching for ‘other worlds’ is one of the oldest well known scientific questions. With the first discovery of planets around the pulsar PSR1257+12 (Wolszczan & Frail 1992) and the main sequence star 51 Peg (Mayor & Queloz 1995), a new field of astronomy has been opened. Most of the planets have been found around main‐sequence solar‐mass stars. However in this investigation, we present our plan to search for planets around intermediate‐mass late G type giant stars (1.5 – 3M⊙) with cooperation with Japanese astronomers and give the preliminary results of this research. A long‐term monitoring of the Doppler velocities of stars will be carried out with mid‐size telescopes at Okayama (Japan) and Xinglong (China).

Chemical compositions of four barium stars HD 26886, HD 27271, HD 50082 and HD 98839 are studied based on high resolution, high signal-to-noise Echelle spectra. Results show that all of them are disk stars. Their ��and iron peak elements are similar to the solar abundances. The neutron-capture process elements are overabundant relative to the Solar. The heavy-element abundances of the strong Ba star HD 50082 are higher than those of other three mild Ba stars. Its mass is 1.32Msun (+0.28,-0.22Msun), and is consistent with the average mass of strong Ba stars (1.5Msun). For mild Ba star HD 27271 and HD 26886, the derived masses are 1.90Msun (+0.25,-0.20Msun) and 2.78Msun (+0.75,-0.78M_sun), respectively, which are consistent with the average mass of mild Ba stars. We also calculate the theoretical abundances of Ba stars by combining the AGB stars nucleosynthesis and wind accretion formation scenario of Ba binary systems. The comparisons between the observed abundance patterns of the sample stars with the theoretical results show that wind accretion scenario can explain the abundance patterns of HD 50082 and HD 27271 well, but fail to explain the abundances of HD 26886. It means that the mild Ba star HD 26886, with shorter orbital period (P11000 d), may be either a star with the heavy elements enriched by itself or a "true Ba" star., 13 pages, Accepted for publication in A&A

We have performed new determinations of sulphur and silicon abundances for a sample of 26 disk stars based on high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra. The results indicate a solar [S/Fe] for [Fe/H] >-0.3, below which [S/Fe] increases to ~0.25 dex at [Fe/H] =-1.0. We find that there is a good correlation between [S/H] and [Si/H], indicating the same nucleosynthetic origin of the two elements. It seems that the ratio of sulphur to silicon does not depend on metallicity for [Fe/H]> -1.0. The implications of these results on models for the nucleosynthesis of alpha-capture elements and the chemical evolution of the Galaxy are discussed., 9 pages, 6 figures, accepted by A&A

We have obtained a sample of ∼22,000 red giant branch (RGB) stars based on stellar parameters, provided by the ninth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and the CH(G)/MgH indices, measured from the included spectra. The Galactic rest-frame velocity of V {sub gsr} versus longitude for the sample shows the existence of several groups of stars from globular clusters and known streams. Excluding these substructures, a sample of ∼16,000 RGB stars from the general field is used to investigate the properties of the thick disk, the inner halo, and the outer halo of our Galaxy. The metallicity and rotational velocity distributions are investigated for stars at 0 kpc 3 kpc. The MWTD is present and overlaps with the inner halo at 1 kpc 5 kpc, bimodal metallicity distributions are found for 20more » kpc < |Z| < 25 kpc and 35 kpc < RR < 45 kpc, which suggests a dual halo, the inner and the outer halo, as reported in Carollo et al. at low |Z| values. The peak of metallicity for the inner halo is at [Fe/H] ∼ –1.6 and appears to be at [Fe/H] ∼ –2.3 for the outer halo. The transition point from the inner to the outer halo is located at |Z| ∼ 20 kpc and RR ∼ 35 kpc.« less

We present distance determinations for a large and clean sample of red giant branch stars selected from the ninth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The distances are calculated based on both observational cluster fiducials and theoretical isochrones. Distributions of distances from the two methods are very similar with peaks at about 10 kpc and tails extending to more than 70 kpc. We find that distances from the two methods agree well for the majority of the sample stars; though, on average, distances based on isochrones are 10% higher than those based on fiducials. We test the accuracy of our distance determinations using 332 stars from 10 Galactic globular and open clusters. The average relative deviation from the literature cluster distances is 4% for the fiducial-based distances and 8% for the isochrone-based distances, both of which are within the uncertainties. We find that the effective temperature and surface gravity derived from low-resolution spectra are not accurate enough to essentially improve the performance of distance determinations. However, for stars with significant extinction, effective temperature may help to better constrain their distances to some extent. We make our sample stars and their distances available from an online catalog. The catalog comprises 17,941 stars with reasonable distance estimations reaching to more than 70 kpc, which is suitable for the investigation of the formation and evolution of the Galaxy, especially the Galactic halo.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigating the sample morphology is the process of direct interaction between tip and surface features. The geometry of probe tip is a determining factor in correcting AFM images distorted by tip size itself. A quantitative knowledge of the current tip shape is needed to improve the reliability of AFM images. The biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film was fabricated and used as tip characterizer to estimate the morphology of AFM Si tip based on the blind reconstruction algorithm. The surface of the BOPP film was covered by nanometer-scale-sized structures which ensure that the tip profile can be determined accurately. Without independent knowledge of the sample, the three-dimensional (3D) shape of Si probe tip was obtained with high aspect ratio. BOPP film is not only a simple, cheap material but also a soft one which can also avoid tip damage in scanning. It was demonstrated reliable and suitable for tip characterization.

Based on extensive statistical-equilibrium calculations, we performed a non-LTE analysis of the K {\sc i} 7699 equivalent-width data of metal-deficient stars for the purpose of clarifying the behavior of the photospheric potassium abundance in disk/halo stars. While the resulting non-LTE abundance corrections turned out to be considerably large, amounting to 0.2--0.7 dex, their effect on the [K/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] relation is not very important, since these corrections do not show any significant metallicity dependence. Hence, we again confirmed the results of previous LTE studies, that [K/Fe] shows a gradual systematic increase toward a lowered metallicity up to [K/Fe] $\sim$ 0.3--0.5 at [Fe/H] $\sim$ -1 to -2, such as in the case of $\alpha$ elements., Comment: 16 pages (including 2 tables and 4 figures), to appear in PASJ, Vol.54, No.2 (using the style file pasj00.cls)