Void Scaling and Void Profiles in CDM Models

An analysis of voids using cosmological N-body simulations of cold dark matter models is presented. It employs a robust statistics of voids, that was recently applied to discriminate between data from the Las Campanas Redshift Survey and different cosmological models. Here we extend the analysis to 3D and show that typical void sizes D in the simulated galaxy samples obey a linear scaling relation with the mean galaxy separation lambda: D=D_0+nu*lambda. It has the same slope nu as in 2D, but with lower absolute void sizes. The scaling relation is able to discriminate between different cosmologies. For the best standard LCDM model, the slope of the scaling relation for voids in the dark matter halos is too steep as compared to the LCRS, with too small void sizes for well sampled data sets. The scaling relation of voids for dark matter halos with increasing mass thresholds is even steeper than that for samples of galaxy-mass halos where we sparse sample the data. This shows the stronger clustering of more massive halos. Further, we find a correlation of the void size to its central and environmental average density. While there is little sign of an evolution in samples of small DM halos with v_{circ} ~ 90 km/s, voids in halos with circular velocity over 200 km/s are larger at redshift z = 3 due to the smaller halo number density. The flow of dark matter from the underdense to overdense regions in an early established network of large scale structure is also imprinted in the evolution of the density profiles with a relative density decrease in void centers by 0.18 per redshift unit between z=3 and z=0.Comment: 12 pages, 9 eps figures, submitted to MNRA

Voids in the LCRS versus CDM Models

We have analyzed the distribution of void sizes in the two-dimensional slices of the Las Campanas Redshift Survey (LCRS). Fourteen volume-limited subsamples were extracted from the six slices to cover a large part of the survey and to test the robustness of the results against cosmic variance. Thirteen samples were randomly culled to produce homogeneously selected samples. We then studied the relationship between the cumulative area covered by voids and the void size as a property of the void hierarchy. We find that the distribution of void sizes scales with the mean galaxy separation, $\lambda$. In particular, we find that the size of voids covering half of the area is given by D_{med} \approx \lambda + (12\pm3) \h^{-2}Mpc. Next, by employing an environmental density threshold criterion to identify mock galaxies, we were able to extend this analysis to mock samples from dynamical $n$-body simulations of Cold Dark Matter (CDM) models. To reproduce the observed void statistics, overdensity thresholds of $\delta_{th} \approx 0 ... 1$ are necessary. We have compared standard (SCDM), open (OCDM), vacuum energy dominated ($\Lambda$CDM), and broken scale invariant CDM models (BCDM): we find that both the void coverage distribution and the two-point correlation function provide important and complementary information on the large-scale matter distribution. The dependence of the void statistics on the threshold criterion for the mock galaxy indentification shows that the galaxy biasing is more crucial for the void size distribution than are differences between the cosmological models.Comment: 10 pages, 8 eps figures, submitted to MNRA

Acute and subchronic dermal toxicity of nanosilver in guinea pig

Silver has been used as an antimicrobial agent for a long time in different forms, but silver nanoparticles (nanosilver) have recently been recognized as potent antimicrobial agents. Although nanosilver is finding diverse medical applications such as silver-based dressings and silver-coated medical devices, its dermal and systemic toxicity via dermal use has not yet been identified. In this study, we analyzed the potential toxicity of colloidal nanosilver in acute and subchronic guinea pigs. Before toxicity assessments, the size of colloidal nanosilver was recorded in sizes <100 nm by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. For toxicological assessments, male guinea pigs weighing 350 to 400 g were exposed to two different concentrations of nanosilver (1000 and 10,000 μg/mL) in an acute study and three concentrations of nanosilver (100, 1000, and 10,000 μg/mL) in a subchronic study. Toxic responses were assessed by clinical and histopathologic parameters. In all experimental animals the sites of exposure were scored for any type of dermal toxicity and compared with negative control and positive control groups. In autopsy studies during the acute test, no significant changes in organ weight or major macroscopic changes were detected, but dose-dependent histopathologic abnormalities were seen in skin, liver, and spleen of all test groups. In addition, experimental animals subjected to subchronic tests showed greater tissue abnormalities than the subjects of acute tests. It seems that colloidal nanosilver has the potential to provide target organ toxicities in a dose- and time-dependent manner

Power-law Parameterized Quintessence Model

We introduce a power-law parameterized quintessence model for the dark energy which accelerate universe at the low redshifts while behaves as an ordinary matter for the early universe. We construct a unique scalar potential for this parameterized quintessence model. As the observational test, the Supernova Type Ia (SNIa) Gold sample data, size of baryonic acoustic peak from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the position of the acoustic peak from the CMB observations and structure formation from the 2dFGRS survey are used to constrain the parameters of the quintessence model. The best fit parameters indicates that the equation of state of this model at the present time is less than one $(w_0<-1)$ which violates the energy condition in General Relativity. Finally we compare the age of old objects with age of universe in this model.Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

A Dynamical Classification of the Cosmic Web

A dynamical classification of the cosmic web is proposed. The large scale environment is classified into four web types: voids, sheets, filaments and knots. The classification is based on the evaluation of the deformation tensor, i.e. the Hessian of the gravitational potential, on a grid. The classification is based on counting the number of eigenvalues above a certain threshold, lambda_th at each grid point, where the case of zero, one, two or three such eigenvalues corresponds to void, sheet, filament or a knot grid point. The collection of neighboring grid points, friends-of-friends, of the same web attribute constitutes voids, sheets, filaments and knots as web objects. A simple dynamical consideration suggests that lambda_th should be approximately unity, upon an appropriate scaling of the deformation tensor. The algorithm has been applied and tested against a suite of (dark matter only) cosmological N-body simulations. In particular, the dependence of the volume and mass filling fractions on lambda_th and on the resolution has been calculated for the four web types. Also, the percolation properties of voids and filaments have been studied. Our main findings are: (a) Already at lambda_th = 0.1 the resulting web classification reproduces the visual impression of the cosmic web. (b) Between 0.2 < lambda_th < 0.4, a system of percolated voids coexists with a net of interconected filaments. This suggests a reasonable choice for lambda_th as the parameter that defines the cosmic web. (c) The dynamical nature of the suggested classification provides a robust framework for incorporating environmental information into galaxy formation models, and in particular the semi-analytical ones.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, submitted to MNRA

IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF p53 AND BCL-2 PROTEINS IN ADVANCED ESOPHAGEAL CANCER PATIENTS

The current challenges in the management of esophageal cancer are to obtain a better understanding of underlying molecular alterations to provide new treatment options. We studied the p53 and Bcl-2 protein expression in esophageal carcinomas to correlate molecular alterations with clinicopathological findings. Tissue samples of 37 patients with advanced esophageal carcinoma were analyzed by immunohistochemical techniques. Positive immunostaining for p53 and Bcl-2 were observed in 67.6% and 43.6% of tumor samples, respectively. The prevalence of Bcl-2 overexpression was significantly greater in p53+ tumors ‎as compared with p53- tumors (P = 0.003). Unlike p53, positive Bcl-2 immunostaining correlated significantly with tumor type (P = 0.001) and histological differentiation (P = 0.007). Our data also showed that 35% of patients were positive for both proteins and 32.4% of patients were positive for p53 but negative for Bcl-2 expression. These results indicate two types of double gene alterations that obviously would affect tumor biology and response to chemotherapy. Therefore, it is advisable to determine expression profile of certain genes including p53 and Bcl-2 in tumor samples before selecting chemotherapy regimen