32 research outputs found
Rest-frame UV line emission from the intergalactic medium at 2<z<5
Rest-frame UV emission lines offer the possibility to directly image the gas
around high-redshift galaxies with upcoming optical instruments. We use a suite
of large, hydrodynamical simulations to predict the nature and detectability of
emission lines from the intergalactic medium at 2<z<5. The brightest emission
comes from HI Ly-alpha and the strongest metal line, CIII, is about an order of
magnitude fainter, although HI Ly-alpha may be fainter if the gas is
self-shielded to the UV background or if dust is important. The highest surface
brightness regions for CIV, SiIII, SiIV and OVI are fainter than CIII by
factors of a few. The NV and NeVIII lines, as well as HeII H-alpha, are
substantially weaker but their maximum surface brightnesses still exceed 100
photon/cm^2/s/sr at z=2 (for 2" pixels). Lower ionisation lines arise in denser
and colder gas that produces clumpier emission. The brightest HI Ly-alpha
emission arises in highly overdense gas, but the highest surface brightness
emission from high-ionisation metal lines traces a wider range of
overdensities. Bright metal-line emission traces gas with temperatures close to
the peak of the corresponding emissivity curve. While HI Ly-alpha, HeII
H-alpha, CIII, SiIII, and SiIV are excellent probes of cold accretion flows and
the colder parts of outflows, CIV, NV, OVI, and NeVIII are powerful tracers of
the diffuse WHIM and galactic winds. A comparison of results from simulations
with varying physical prescriptions demonstrates that the predictions for the
brighter metal-line emission are robust to within factors of a few. Several
emission lines from the high-redshift IGM will become detectable in the near
future, possibly starting with the Cosmic Web Imager on Palomar. MUSE and the
Keck Cosmic Web Imager have the potential to revolutionise studies of the
interactions between high-redshift galaxies and their environment. (Abridged)Comment: 21 pages, 17 figures. Accepted for publication by MNRA
The XMM Cluster Survey: The interplay between the brightest cluster galaxy and the intra-cluster medium via AGN feedback
Using a sample of 123 X-ray clusters and groups drawn from the XMM-Cluster
Survey first data release, we investigate the interplay between the brightest
cluster galaxy (BCG), its black hole, and the intra-cluster/group medium (ICM).
It appears that for groups and clusters with a BCG likely to host significant
AGN feedback, gas cooling dominates in those with Tx > 2 keV while AGN feedback
dominates below. This may be understood through the sub-unity exponent found in
the scaling relation we derive between the BCG mass and cluster mass over the
halo mass range 10^13 < M500 < 10^15Msol and the lack of correlation between
radio luminosity and cluster mass, such that BCG AGN in groups can have
relatively more energetic influence on the ICM. The Lx - Tx relation for
systems with the most massive BCGs, or those with BCGs co-located with the peak
of the ICM emission, is steeper than that for those with the least massive and
most offset, which instead follows self-similarity. This is evidence that a
combination of central gas cooling and powerful, well fuelled AGN causes the
departure of the ICM from pure gravitational heating, with the steepened
relation crossing self-similarity at Tx = 2 keV. Importantly, regardless of
their black hole mass, BCGs are more likely to host radio-loud AGN if they are
in a massive cluster (Tx > 2 keV) and again co-located with an effective fuel
supply of dense, cooling gas. This demonstrates that the most massive black
holes appear to know more about their host cluster than they do about their
host galaxy. The results lead us to propose a physically motivated, empirical
definition of 'cluster' and 'group', delineated at 2 keV.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS - replaced to match corrected proo
Quantifying the effect of baryon physics on weak lensing tomography
We use matter power spectra from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations to
quantify the effect of baryon physics on the weak gravitational lensing shear
signal. The simulations consider a number of processes, such as radiative
cooling, star formation, supernovae and feedback from active galactic nuclei
(AGN). Van Daalen et al. (2011) used the same simulations to show that baryon
physics, in particular the strong feedback that is required to solve the
overcooling problem, modifies the matter power spectrum on scales relevant for
cosmological weak lensing studies. As a result, the use of power spectra from
dark matter simulations can lead to significant biases in the inferred
cosmological parameters. We show that the typical biases are much larger than
the precision with which future missions aim to constrain the dark energy
equation of state, w_0. For instance, the simulation with AGN feedback, which
reproduces X-ray and optical properties of groups of galaxies, gives rise to a
~40% bias in w_0. We demonstrate that the modification of the power spectrum is
dominated by groups and clusters of galaxies, the effect of which can be
modelled. We consider an approach based on the popular halo model and show that
simple modifications can capture the main features of baryonic feedback.
Despite its simplicity, we find that our model, when calibrated on the
simulations, is able to reduce the bias in w_0 to a level comparable to the
size of the statistical uncertainties for a Euclid-like mission. While
observations of the gas and stellar fractions as a function of halo mass can be
used to calibrate the model, hydrodynamic simulations will likely still be
needed to extend the observed scaling relations down to halo masses of 10 ^12
M_sun/h.Comment: 17 pages, 14 Figures, MNRAS accepted. Small changes to the published
version: typos in Eq. 4 corrected, Figure 2 updated (y-ticks of the previous
version were wrong). Bibliography updated with published papers when possibl
X Chromosome Inactivation Pattern is not Associated With Interindividual Variations in Thyroid Volume: A Study of Euthyroid Danish Female Twins
Effects of deep brain stimulation on quantitative sleep electroencephalogram during non-rapid eye movement in Parkinson’s disease
IntroductionSleep dysfunction is frequently experienced by people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and negatively influences quality of life. Although subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) can improve sleep in PD, sleep microstructural features such as sleep spindles provide additional insights about healthy sleep. For example, sleep spindles are important for better cognitive performance and for sleep consolidation in healthy adults. We hypothesized that conventional STN DBS settings would yield a greater enhancement in spindle density compared to OFF and low frequency DBS.MethodsIn a previous within-subject, cross-sectional study, we evaluated effects of low (60 Hz) and conventional high (≥130 Hz) frequency STN DBS settings on sleep macroarchitectural features in individuals with PD. In this post hoc, exploratory analysis, we conducted polysomnography (PSG)-derived quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) assessments in a cohort of 15 individuals with PD who had undergone STN DBS treatment a median 13.5 months prior to study participation. Fourteen participants had unilateral DBS and 1 had bilateral DBS. During three nonconsecutive nights of PSG, the participants were assessed under three different DBS conditions: DBS OFF, DBS LOW frequency (60 Hz), and DBS HIGH frequency (≥130 Hz). The primary objective of this study was to investigate the changes in sleep spindle density across the three DBS conditions using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Additionally, we examined various secondary outcomes related to sleep qEEG features. For all participants, PSG-derived EEG data underwent meticulous manual inspection, with the exclusion of any segments affected by movement artifact. Following artifact rejection, sleep qEEG analysis was conducted on frontal and central leads. The measures included slow wave (SW) and spindle density and morphological characteristics, SW-spindle phase-amplitude coupling, and spectral power analysis during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.ResultsThe analysis revealed that spindle density was significantly higher in the DBS HIGH condition compared to the DBS LOW condition. Surprisingly, we found that SW amplitude during NREM was significantly higher in the DBS LOW condition compared to DBS OFF and DBS HIGH conditions. However, no significant differences were observed in the other sleep qEEG features during sleep at different DBS conditions.ConclusionThis study presents preliminary evidence suggesting that conventional HIGH frequency DBS settings enhance sleep spindle density in PD. Conversely, LOW frequency settings may have beneficial effects on increasing slow wave amplitude during sleep. These findings may inform mechanisms underlying subjective improvements in sleep quality reported in association with DBS. Moreover, this work supports the need for additional research on the influence of surgical interventions on sleep disorders, which are prevalent and debilitating non-motor symptoms in PD
Effects of exercise on sleep spindles in Parkinson's disease
BackgroundIn a randomized, controlled trial, we showed that high-intensity rehabilitation, combining resistance training and body-weight interval training, improves sleep efficiency in Parkinson's disease (PD). Quantitative sleep EEG (sleep qEEG) features, including sleep spindles, are altered in aging and in neurodegenerative disease.ObjectiveThe objective of this post-hoc analysis was to determine the effects of exercise, in comparison to a sleep hygiene, no-exercise control group, on the quantitative characteristics of sleep spindle morphology in PD.MethodsWe conducted an exploratory post-hoc analysis of 24 PD participants who were randomized to exercise (supervised 3 times/week for 16 weeks) versus 26 PD participants who were assigned to a sleep hygiene, no-exercise control group. At baseline and post-intervention, all participants completed memory testing and underwent polysomnography (PSG). PSG-derived sleep EEG central leads (C3 and C4) were manually inspected, with rejection of movement and electrical artifacts. Sleep spindle events were detected based on the following parameters: (1) frequency filter = 11–16 Hz, (2) event duration = 0.5–3 s, and (3) amplitude threshold 75% percentile. We then calculated spindle morphological features, including density and amplitude. These characteristics were computed and averaged over non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep stages N2 and N3 for the full night and separately for the first and second halves of the recording. Intervention effects on these features were analyzed using general linear models with group x time interaction. Significant interaction effects were evaluated for correlations with changes in performance in the memory domain.ResultsA significant group x time interaction effect was observed for changes in sleep spindle density due to exercise compared to sleep hygiene control during N2 and N3 during the first half of the night, with a moderate effect size. This change in spindle density was positively correlated with changes in performance on memory testing in the exercise group.ConclusionsThis study is the first to demonstrate that high-intensity exercise rehabilitation has a potential role in improving sleep spindle density in PD and leading to better cognitive performance in the memory domain. These findings represent a promising advance in the search for non-pharmacological treatments for this common and debilitating non-motor symptom
Kiyang-yang, a West-African Postwar Idiom of Distress
In 1984, a healing cult for young barren women in southern Guinea Bissau developed into a movement, Kiyang-yang, that shook society to its foundations and had national repercussions. “Idiom of distress” is used here as a heuristic tool to understand how Kiyang-yang was able to link war and post-war-related traumatic stress and suffering on both individual and group levels. An individual experience born from a traumatic origin may be generalized into an idiom that diverse sectors of society could embrace for a range of related reasons. We argue that, for an idiom to be understood and appropriated by others, there has to be resonance at the level of symbolic language and shared experiences as well as at the level of the culturally mediated contingent emotions it communicates. We also argue that through its symbolic references to structural causes of suffering, an idiom of distress entails a danger for those in power. It can continue to exist only if its etiology is not exposed or the social suffering it articulates is not eliminated. We finally argue that idioms of distress are not to be understood as discrete diagnostic categories or as monodimensional expressions of “trauma” that can be addressed
The Development of Understanding of Evidence in Pre-University Biology Education in the Netherlands
Towards a realistic population of simulated galaxy groups and clusters
We present a new suite of large-volume cosmological hydrodynamical simulations called cosmo-OWLS. They form an extension to the OverWhelmingly Large Simulations (OWLS) project, and have been designed to help improve our understanding of cluster astrophysics and non-linear structure formation, which are now the limiting systematic errors when using clusters as cosmological probes. Starting from identical initial conditions in either the Planck or WMAP7 cosmologies, we systematically vary the most important ‘sub-grid’ physics, including feedback from supernovae and active galactic nuclei (AGN). We compare the properties of the simulated galaxy groups and clusters to a wide range of observational data, such as X-ray luminosity and temperature, gas mass fractions, entropy and density profiles, Sunyaev–Zel'dovich flux, I-band mass-to-light ratio, dominance of the brightest cluster galaxy and central massive black hole (BH) masses, by producing synthetic observations and mimicking observational analysis techniques. These comparisons demonstrate that some AGN feedback models can produce a realistic population of galaxy groups and clusters, broadly reproducing both the median trend and, for the first time, the scatter in physical properties over approximately two decades in mass (1013 M⊙ ≲ M500 ≲ 1015 M⊙) and 1.5 decades in radius (0.05 ≲ r/r500 ≲ 1.5). However, in other models, the AGN feedback is too violent (even though they reproduce the observed BH scaling relations), implying that calibration of the models is required. The production of realistic populations of simulated groups and clusters, as well as models that bracket the observations, opens the door to the creation of synthetic surveys for assisting the astrophysical and cosmological interpretation of cluster surveys, as well as quantifying the impact of selection effects
Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries
Abstract
Background
Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres.
Methods
This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries.
Results
In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia.
Conclusion
This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries