Deep optical imaging of the field of PC1643+4631A&B, II: Estimating the colours and redshifts of faint galaxies

In an investigation of the cause of the cosmic microwave background decrement in the field of the z = 3.8 quasar pair PC1643+4631, we have carried out a study to photometrically estimate the redshifts of galaxies in deep multi-colour optical images of the field taken with the WHT. To examine the possibility that a massive cluster of galaxies lies in the field, we have attempted to recover simulated galaxies with intrinsic colours matching those of the model galaxies used in the photometric redshift estimation. We find that when such model galaxies are added to our images, there is considerable scatter of the recovered galaxy redshifts away from the model value; this scatter is larger than that expected from photometric errors and is the result of confusion, simply due to ground-based seeing, between objects in the field. We have also compared the likely efficiency of the photometric redshift technique against the colour criteria used to select z>3 galaxies via the strong colour signature of the Lyman-limit break. We find that these techniques may significantly underestimate the true surface density of z>3, due to confusion between the high-redshift galaxies and other objects near the line of sight. We argue that the actual surface density of z=3 galaxies may be as much as 6 times greater than that estimated by previous ground-based studies, and note that this conclusion is consistent with the surface density of high-redshift objects found in the HDF. Finally, we conclude that all ground-based deep field surveys are inevitably affected by confusion, and note that reducing the effective seeing in ground-based images will be of paramount importance in observing the distant universe.Comment: 18 pages, 60 figures, submitted to MNRAS, 2 large figure avaliable at ftp://ftp.mrao.cam.ac.uk:/pub/PC1643/paper2.figure50.eps and ftp://ftp.mrao.cam.ac.uk:/pub/PC1643/paper2.figure51.ep

Deep optical imaging of the field of PC1643+4631A&B, I: Spatial distributions and the counts of faint galaxies

We present deep optical images of the PC1643+4631 field obtained at the WHT. This field contains two quasars at redshifts z=3.79 & 3.83 and a cosmic microwave background (CMB) decrement detected with the Ryle Telescope. The images are in U,G,V,R and I filters, and are complete to 25th magnitude in R and G and to 25.5 in U. The isophotal galaxy counts are consistent with the results of Metcalde et al. (1996), Hogg et al. (1997), and others. We find an excess of robust high-redshift Ly-break galaxy candidates with 25.0<R<25.5 compared with the mean number found in the fields studied by Steidel et al. -we expect 7 but find 16 - but we do not find that the galaxies are concentrated in the direction of the CMB decrement. However, we are still not sure of the distance to the system causing the CMB decrement. We have also used our images to compare the commonly used object-finding algorithms of FOCAS and SExtractor: we find FOCAS the more efficient at detecting faint objects and the better at dealing with composite objects, whereas SExtractor's morphological classification is more reliable, especially for faint objects near the resolution limit. More generally, we have also compared the flux lost using isophotal apertures on a real image with that on a noise-only image: recovery of artificial galaxies from the noise-only image significantly overestimates the flux lost from the galaxies, and we find that the corrections made using this technique suffer a systematic error of some 0.4 magnitudes.Comment: 17 pages, 40 figures, submitted to MNRAS, 1 large figure avaliable at ftp://ftp.mrao.cam.ac.uk:/pub/PC1643/paper1.figure18.p

An elaborated feeding cycle model for reductions in vectorial capacity of night-biting mosquitoes by insecticide-treated nets

BACKGROUND: Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) are an important tool for malaria control. ITNs are effective because they work on several parts of the mosquito feeding cycle, including both adult killing and repelling effects. METHODS: Using an elaborated description of the classic feeding cycle model, simple formulas have been derived to describe how ITNs change mosquito behaviour and the intensity of malaria transmission, as summarized by vectorial capacity and EIR. The predicted changes are illustrated as a function of the frequency of ITN use for four different vector populations using parameter estimates from the literature. RESULTS: The model demonstrates that ITNs simultaneously reduce mosquitoes' lifespans, lengthen the feeding cycle, and by discouraging human biting divert more bites onto non-human hosts. ITNs can substantially reduce vectorial capacity through small changes to all of these quantities. The total reductions in vectorial capacity differ, moreover, depending on baseline behavior in the absence of ITNs. Reductions in lifespan and vectorial capacity are strongest for vector species with high baseline survival. Anthropophilic and zoophilic species are affected differently by ITNs; the feeding cycle is lengthened more for anthrophilic species, and the proportion of bites that are diverted onto non-human hosts is higher for zoophilic species. CONCLUSION: This model suggests that the efficacy of ITNs should be measured as a total reduction in transmission intensity, and that the quantitative effects will differ by species and by transmission intensity. At very high rates of ITN use, ITNs can generate large reductions in transmission intensity that could provide very large reductions in transmission intensity, and effective malaria control in some areas, especially when used in combination with other control measures. At high EIR, ITNs will probably not substantially reduce the parasite rate, but when transmission intensity is low, reductions in vectorial capacity combine with reductions in the parasite rate to generate very large reductions in EIR

Survivorship of Anopheles darlingi (Diptera: Culicidae) in Relation with Malaria Incidence in the Brazilian Amazon

We performed a longitudinal study of adult survival of Anopheles darlingi, the most important vector in the Amazon, in a malarigenous frontier zone of Brazil. Survival rates were determined from both parous rates and multiparous dissections. Anopheles darlingi human biting rates, daily survival rates and expectation of life where higher in the dry season, as compared to the rainy season, and were correlated with malaria incidence. The biting density of mosquitoes that had survived long enough for completing at least one sporogonic cycle was related with the number of malaria cases by linear regression. Survival rates were the limiting factor explaining longitudinal variations in Plasmodium vivax malaria incidence and the association between adult mosquito survival and malaria was statistically significant by logistic regression (P<0.05). Survival rates were better correlated with malaria incidence than adult mosquito biting density. Mathematical modeling showed that P. falciparum and P. malariae were more vulnerable to changes in mosquito survival rates because of longer sporogonic cycle duration, as compared to P. vivax, which could account for the low prevalence of the former parasites observed in the study area. Population modeling also showed that the observed decreases in human biting rates in the wet season could be entirely explained by decreases in survival rates, suggesting that decreased breeding did not occur in the wet season, at the sites where adult mosquitoes were collected. For the first time in the literature, multivariate methods detected a statistically significant inverse relation (P<0.05) between the number of rainy days per month and daily survival rates, suggesting that rainfall may cause adult mortality

Model Cortical Association Fields Account for the Time Course and Dependence on Target Complexity of Human Contour Perception

Can lateral connectivity in the primary visual cortex account for the time dependence and intrinsic task difficulty of human contour detection? To answer this question, we created a synthetic image set that prevents sole reliance on either low-level visual features or high-level context for the detection of target objects. Rendered images consist of smoothly varying, globally aligned contour fragments (amoebas) distributed among groups of randomly rotated fragments (clutter). The time course and accuracy of amoeba detection by humans was measured using a two-alternative forced choice protocol with self-reported confidence and variable image presentation time (20-200 ms), followed by an image mask optimized so as to interrupt visual processing. Measured psychometric functions were well fit by sigmoidal functions with exponential time constants of 30-91 ms, depending on amoeba complexity. Key aspects of the psychophysical experiments were accounted for by a computational network model, in which simulated responses across retinotopic arrays of orientation-selective elements were modulated by cortical association fields, represented as multiplicative kernels computed from the differences in pairwise edge statistics between target and distractor images. Comparing the experimental and the computational results suggests that each iteration of the lateral interactions takes at least ms of cortical processing time. Our results provide evidence that cortical association fields between orientation selective elements in early visual areas can account for important temporal and task-dependent aspects of the psychometric curves characterizing human contour perception, with the remaining discrepancies postulated to arise from the influence of higher cortical areas

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe