862 research outputs found
Increased abundance of frost mRNA during recovery from cold stress is not essential for cold tolerance in adult Drosophila melanogaster.
Frost (Fst) is a candidate gene associated with the response to cold in Drosophila melanogaster because Fst mRNA accumulation increases during recovery from low temperature exposure. We investigated the contribution of Fst expression to chill-coma recovery time, acute cold tolerance and rapid cold hardening (RCH) in adult D. melanogaster by knocking down Fst mRNA expression using GAL4/UAS-mediated RNA interference. In this experiment, four UAS-Fst and one tubulin-GAL4 lines were used. We predicted that if Fst is essential for cold tolerance phenotypes, flies with low Fst mRNA levels should be less cold tolerant than flies with normal levels of cold-induced Fst mRNA. Cold-induced Fst abundance and recovery time from chill-coma were not negatively correlated in male or female flies. Survival of 2 h exposures to sub-zero temperatures in Fst knockdown lines was not lower than that in a control line. Moreover, a low temperature pretreatment increased survival of severe cold exposure in flies regardless of Fst abundance level during recovery from cold stress, suggesting that Fst expression is not essential for RCH. Thus, cold-induced Fst accumulation is not essential for cold tolerance measured as chill-coma recovery time, survival to acute cold stress and RCH response in adult D. melanogaster
A novel screen for genes associated with pheromone-induced sterility
For honey bee and other social insect colonies the 'queen substance' regulates colony reproduction rendering workers functionally sterile. The evolution of worker reproductive altruism is explained by inclusive fitness theory, but little is known of the genes involved or how they regulate the phenotypic expression of altruism. We previously showed that application of honeybee queen pheromone to virgin fruit flies suppresses fecundity. Here we exploit this finding to identify genes associated with the perception of an ovary-inhibiting social pheromone. Mutational and RNAi approaches in Drosophila reveal that the olfactory co-factor Orco together with receptors Or49b, Or56a and Or98a are potentially involved in the perception of queen pheromone and the suppression of fecundity. One of these, Or98a, is known to mediate female fly mating behaviour, and its predicted ligand is structurally similar to a methyl component of the queen pheromone. Our novel approach to finding genes associated with pheromone-induced sterility implies conserved reproductive regulation between social and pre-social orders, and further helps to identify candidate orthologues from the pheromone-responsive pathway that may regulate honeybee worker sterility
Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 Galaxy Sample
The spectroscopic Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7) galaxy
sample represents the final set of galaxies observed using the original SDSS
target selection criteria. We analyse the clustering of galaxies within this
sample, including both the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) and Main samples, and also
include the 2-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) data. Baryon
Acoustic Oscillations are observed in power spectra measured for different
slices in redshift; this allows us to constrain the distance--redshift relation
at multiple epochs. We achieve a distance measure at redshift z=0.275, of
r_s(z_d)/D_V(0.275)=0.1390+/-0.0037 (2.7% accuracy), where r_s(z_d) is the
comoving sound horizon at the baryon drag epoch,
D_V(z)=[(1+z)^2D_A^2cz/H(z)]^(1/3), D_A(z) is the angular diameter distance and
H(z) is the Hubble parameter. We find an almost independent constraint on the
ratio of distances D_V(0.35)/D_V(0.2)=1.736+/-0.065, which is consistent at the
1.1sigma level with the best fit Lambda-CDM model obtained when combining our
z=0.275 distance constraint with the WMAP 5-year data. The offset is similar to
that found in previous analyses of the SDSS DR5 sample, but the discrepancy is
now of lower significance, a change caused by a revised error analysis and a
change in the methodology adopted, as well as the addition of more data. Using
WMAP5 constraints on Omega_bh^2 and Omega_ch^2, and combining our BAO distance
measurements with those from the Union Supernova sample, places a tight
constraint on Omega_m=0.286+/-0.018 and H_0 = 68.2+/-2.2km/s/Mpc that is robust
to allowing curvature and non-Lambda dark energy. This result is independent of
the behaviour of dark energy at redshifts greater than those probed by the BAO
and supernova measurements. (abridged)Comment: 22 pages, 16 figures, minor changes to match version published in
MNRA
Bayesian power-spectrum inference for Large Scale Structure data
We describe an exact, flexible, and computationally efficient algorithm for a
joint estimation of the large-scale structure and its power-spectrum, building
on a Gibbs sampling framework and present its implementation ARES (Algorithm
for REconstruction and Sampling). ARES is designed to reconstruct the 3D
power-spectrum together with the underlying dark matter density field in a
Bayesian framework, under the reasonable assumption that the long wavelength
Fourier components are Gaussian distributed. As a result ARES does not only
provide a single estimate but samples from the joint posterior of the
power-spectrum and density field conditional on a set of observations. This
enables us to calculate any desired statistical summary, in particular we are
able to provide joint uncertainty estimates. We apply our method to mock
catalogs, with highly structured observational masks and selection functions,
in order to demonstrate its ability to reconstruct the power-spectrum from real
data sets, while fully accounting for any mask induced mode coupling.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figure
Cosmological Constraints from the Clustering of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR7 Luminous Red Galaxies
We present the power spectrum of the reconstructed halo density field derived
from a sample of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Seventh Data Release (DR7). The halo power spectrum has a direct connection to
the underlying dark matter power for k <= 0.2 h/Mpc, well into the quasi-linear
regime. This enables us to use a factor of ~8 more modes in the cosmological
analysis than an analysis with kmax = 0.1 h/Mpc, as was adopted in the SDSS
team analysis of the DR4 LRG sample (Tegmark et al. 2006). The observed halo
power spectrum for 0.02 < k < 0.2 h/Mpc is well-fit by our model: chi^2 = 39.6
for 40 degrees of freedom for the best fit LCDM model. We find \Omega_m h^2 *
(n_s/0.96)^0.13 = 0.141^{+0.009}_{-0.012} for a power law primordial power
spectrum with spectral index n_s and \Omega_b h^2 = 0.02265 fixed, consistent
with CMB measurements. The halo power spectrum also constrains the ratio of the
comoving sound horizon at the baryon-drag epoch to an effective distance to
z=0.35: r_s/D_V(0.35) = 0.1097^{+0.0039}_{-0.0042}. Combining the halo power
spectrum measurement with the WMAP 5 year results, for the flat LCDM model we
find \Omega_m = 0.289 +/- 0.019 and H_0 = 69.4 +/- 1.6 km/s/Mpc. Allowing for
massive neutrinos in LCDM, we find \sum m_{\nu} < 0.62 eV at the 95% confidence
level. If we instead consider the effective number of relativistic species Neff
as a free parameter, we find Neff = 4.8^{+1.8}_{-1.7}. Combining also with the
Kowalski et al. (2008) supernova sample, we find \Omega_{tot} = 1.011 +/- 0.009
and w = -0.99 +/- 0.11 for an open cosmology with constant dark energy equation
of state w.Comment: 26 pages, 19 figures, submitted to MNRAS. The power spectrum and a
module to calculate the likelihoods is publicly available at
http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/toolbox/lrgdr/ . v2 fixes abstract formatting
issu
Towards an accurate model of the redshift space clustering of halos in the quasilinear regime
Observations of redshift-space distortions in spectroscopic galaxy surveys
offer an attractive method for measuring the build-up of cosmological
structure, which depends both on the expansion rate of the Universe and our
theory of gravity. Galaxies occupy dark matter halos, whose redshift space
clustering has a complex dependence on bias that cannot be inferred from the
behavior of matter. We identify two distinct corrections on quasilinear scales
(~ 30-80 Mpc/h): the non-linear mapping between real and redshift space
positions, and the non-linear suppression of power in the velocity divergence
field. We model the first non-perturbatively using the scale-dependent Gaussian
streaming model, which we show is accurate at the <0.5 (2) per cent level in
transforming real space clustering and velocity statistics into redshift space
on scales s>10 (s>25) Mpc/h for the monopole (quadrupole) halo correlation
functions. We use perturbation theory to predict the real space pairwise halo
velocity statistics. Our fully analytic model is accurate at the 2 per cent
level only on scales s > 40 Mpc/h. Recent models that neglect the corrections
from the bispectrum and higher order terms from the non-linear real-to-redshift
space mapping will not have the accuracy required for current and future
observational analyses. Finally, we note that our simulation results confirm
the essential but non-trivial assumption that on large scales, the bias
inferred from real space clustering of halos is the same one that determines
their pairwise infall velocity amplitude at the per cent level.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, submitted to MNRA
Interpreting large-scale redshift-space distortion measurements
The simplest theory describing large-scale redshift-space distortions (RSD),
based on linear theory and distant galaxies, depends on the growth of
cosmological structure, suggesting that strong tests of General Relativity can
be constructed from galaxy surveys. As data sets become larger and the expected
constraints more precise, the extent to which the RSD follow the simple theory
needs to be assessed in order that we do not introduce systematic errors into
the tests by introducing inaccurate simplifying assumptions. We study the
impact of the sample geometry, non-linear processes, and biases induced by our
lack of understanding of the radial galaxy distribution on RSD measurements.
Using LasDamas simulations of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II (SDSS-II)
Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) data, these effects are shown to be important at the
level of 20 per cent. Including them, we can accurately model the recovered
clustering in these mock catalogues on scales 30 -- 200 Mpc/h. Applying this
analysis to robustly measure parameters describing the growth history of the
Universe from the SDSS-II data, gives
and
when no prior is imposed on the
growth-rate, and the background geometry is assumed to follow a CDM
model with the WMAP + SNIa priors. The standard WMAP constrained CDM
model with General Relativity predicts
and
, which is fully consistent with
these measurements.Comment: 20 pages, 17 figures, 1 tabl
Staphylococcus aureus in the oral cavity: a three-year retrospective analysis of clinical laboratory data
OBJECTIVE: A retrospective analysis of laboratory data to investigate the isolation of Staphylococcus aureus from the oral cavity and facial area in specimens submitted to a regional diagnostic oral microbiology laboratory. METHODS: A hand search of laboratory records for a three-year period (1998-2000) was performed for specimens submitted to the regional diagnostic oral microbiology laboratory based at Glasgow Dental Hospital and School. Data were collected from forms where S. aureus was isolated. These data included demographics, referral source, specimen type, methicillin susceptibility and clinical details. RESULTS: For the period 1998-2000, there were 5,005 specimens submitted to the laboratory. S. aureus was isolated from 1,017 specimens, of which 967 (95%) were sensitive to methicillin (MSSA) and 50 (5%) were resistant to methicillin (MRSA). The 1,017 specimens were provided from 615 patients. MRSA was isolated from 37 (6%) of patients. There was an increasing incidence of S. aureus with age, particularly in the greater than 70 years age group. The most common specimen from which MSSA was isolated was an oral rinse (38%) whilst for MRSA isolates this was a tongue swab (28%). The clinical condition most commonly reported for MSSA isolates was angular cheilitis (22%). Erythema, swelling, pain or burning of the oral mucosa was the clinical condition most commonly reported for MRSA isolates (16%). Patients from whom the MSSA isolates were recovered were most commonly (55%) seen in the oral medicine clinic at the dental hospital, whilst patients with MRSA were more commonly seen in primary care settings such as nursing homes, hospices and general dental practice (51%). CONCLUSION: In line with more recent surveys, this retrospective study suggests that S. aureus may be a more frequent isolate from the oral cavity than hitherto suspected. A small proportion of the S. aureus isolates were MRSA. There were insufficient data available to determine whether the S. aureus isolates were colonising or infecting the oral cavity. However, the role of S. aureus in several diseases of the oral mucosa merits further investigation
Bayesian analysis of spatially distorted cosmic signals from Poissonian data
Reconstructing the matter density field from galaxy counts is a problem
frequently addressed in current literature. Two main sources of error are shot
noise from galaxy counts and insufficient knowledge of the correct galaxy
position caused by peculiar velocities and redshift measurement uncertainty.
Here we address the reconstruction problem of a Poissonian sampled log-normal
density field with velocity distortions in a Bayesian way via a maximum a
posteriory method. We test our algorithm on a 1D toy case and find significant
improvement compared to simple data inversion. In particular, we address the
following problems: photometric redshifts, mapping of extended sources in coded
mask systems, real space reconstruction from redshift space galaxy distribution
and combined analysis of data with different point spread functions.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, accepte
Constraints on CDM cosmology from galaxy power spectrum, CMB and SNIa evolution
We examine the constraints that can be obtained on standard cold dark matter
models from the most currently used data set: CMB anisotropies, type Ia
supernovae and the SDSS luminous red galaxies. We also examine how these
constraints are widened when the equation of state parameter and the
curvature parameter are left as free parameters. For the
CDM model, our 'vanilla' model, cosmological parameters are tightly
constrained and consistent with current estimates from various methods. When
the dark energy parameter is free we find that the constraints remain
mostly unchanged, i.e. changes are smaller than the 1 sigma uncertainties.
Similarly, relaxing the assumption of a flat universe leads to nearly identical
constraints on the dark energy density parameter of the universe
, baryon density of the universe , the optical
depth , the index of the power spectrum of primordial fluctuations ,
with most one sigma uncertainties better than 5%. More significant changes
appear on other parameters: while preferred values are almost unchanged,
uncertainties for the physical dark matter density , Hubble
constant and are typically twice as large. We found that
different methodological approaches on large scale structure estimates lead to
appreciable differences in preferred values and uncertainty widths. We also
found that possible evolution in SNIa intrinsic luminosity does not alter these
constraints by much, except for , for which the uncertainty is twice as
large. At the same time, this possible evolution is severely constrained. We
conclude that systematic uncertainties for some estimated quantities are
similar or larger than statistical ones.Comment: Revised version, 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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