80 research outputs found
Glomerulonephritis in the Canine
The case report given shows some of the characteristic clinical and histopathological signs of glomerulonephritis. The clinical signs include proteinuria, elevated blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels. The histopathology of the kidney reveals glomerular tuft proliferation, hyaline formation, and Bowman\u27s capsule adhesions
Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the Ly{\alpha} forest of BOSS DR11 quasars
We report a detection of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature in the
flux-correlation function of the Ly{\alpha} forest of high-redshift quasars
with a statistical significance of five standard deviations. The study uses
137,562 quasars in the redshift range from the Data Release
11 (DR11) of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) of SDSS-III.
This sample contains three times the number of quasars used in previous
studies. The measured position of the BAO peak determines the angular distance,
and expansion rate, , both on a scale set by the sound
horizon at the drag epoch, . We find
and
where . The optimal
combination, is determined with a precision of
. For the value , consistent with the CMB power
spectrum measured by Planck, we find
and . Tests with mock
catalogs and variations of our analysis procedure have revealed no systematic
uncertainties comparable to our statistical errors. Our results agree with the
previously reported BAO measurement at the same redshift using the
quasar-Ly{\alpha} forest cross-correlation. The auto-correlation and
cross-correlation approaches are complementary because of the quite different
impact of redshift-space distortion on the two measurements. The combined
constraints from the two correlation functions imply values of and
that are, respectively, 7% low and 7% high compared to the
predictions of a flat CDM cosmological model with the best-fit Planck
parameters. With our estimated statistical errors, the significance of this
discrepancy is .Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 17 pages, 18 figure
The SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Quasar Target Selection for Data Release Nine
The SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), a five-year
spectroscopic survey of 10,000 deg^2, achieved first light in late 2009. One of
the key goals of BOSS is to measure the signature of baryon acoustic
oscillations in the distribution of Ly-alpha absorption from the spectra of a
sample of ~150,000 z>2.2 quasars. Along with measuring the angular diameter
distance at z\approx2.5, BOSS will provide the first direct measurement of the
expansion rate of the Universe at z > 2. One of the biggest challenges in
achieving this goal is an efficient target selection algorithm for quasars over
2.2 < z < 3.5, where their colors overlap those of stars. During the first year
of the BOSS survey, quasar target selection methods were developed and tested
to meet the requirement of delivering at least 15 quasars deg^-2 in this
redshift range, out of 40 targets deg^-2. To achieve these surface densities,
the magnitude limit of the quasar targets was set at g <= 22.0 or r<=21.85.
While detection of the BAO signature in the Ly-alpha absorption in quasar
spectra does not require a uniform target selection, many other astrophysical
studies do. We therefore defined a uniformly-selected subsample of 20 targets
deg^-2, for which the selection efficiency is just over 50%. This "CORE"
subsample will be fixed for Years Two through Five of the survey. In this paper
we describe the evolution and implementation of the BOSS quasar target
selection algorithms during the first two years of BOSS operations. We analyze
the spectra obtained during the first year. 11,263 new z>2.2 quasars were
spectroscopically confirmed by BOSS. Our current algorithms select an average
of 15 z > 2.2 quasars deg^-2 from 40 targets deg^-2 using single-epoch SDSS
imaging. Multi-epoch optical data and data at other wavelengths can further
improve the efficiency and completeness of BOSS quasar target selection.
[Abridged]Comment: 33 pages, 26 figures, 12 tables and a whole bunch of quasars.
Submitted to Ap
The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III
The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is designed to measure the
scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter over a
larger volume than the combined efforts of all previous spectroscopic surveys
of large scale structure. BOSS uses 1.5 million luminous galaxies as faint as
i=19.9 over 10,000 square degrees to measure BAO to redshifts z<0.7.
Observations of neutral hydrogen in the Lyman alpha forest in more than 150,000
quasar spectra (g<22) will constrain BAO over the redshift range 2.15<z<3.5.
Early results from BOSS include the first detection of the large-scale
three-dimensional clustering of the Lyman alpha forest and a strong detection
from the Data Release 9 data set of the BAO in the clustering of massive
galaxies at an effective redshift z = 0.57. We project that BOSS will yield
measurements of the angular diameter distance D_A to an accuracy of 1.0% at
redshifts z=0.3 and z=0.57 and measurements of H(z) to 1.8% and 1.7% at the
same redshifts. Forecasts for Lyman alpha forest constraints predict a
measurement of an overall dilation factor that scales the highly degenerate
D_A(z) and H^{-1}(z) parameters to an accuracy of 1.9% at z~2.5 when the survey
is complete. Here, we provide an overview of the selection of spectroscopic
targets, planning of observations, and analysis of data and data quality of
BOSS.Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures, accepted by A
The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic
data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data
release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median
z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar
spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra
were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009
December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which
determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and
metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in
temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates
for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars
presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed
as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and
Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2).
The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been
corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be
in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point
Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of
data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at
http://www.sdss3.org/dr
Validation of coding algorithms for the identification of patients hospitalized for alcoholic hepatitis using administrative data
Cosmological implications of baryon acoustic oscillation measurements
We derive constraints on cosmological parameters and tests of dark energy models from the combination of baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements with cosmic microwave background (CMB) data and a recent reanalysis of Type Ia supernova (SN) data. In particular, we take advantage of high-precision BAO measurements from galaxy clustering and the Lyman-α forest (LyaF) in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Treating the BAO scale as an uncalibrated standard ruler, BAO data alone yield a high confidence detection of dark energy; in combination with the CMB angular acoustic scale they further imply a nearly flat universe. Adding the CMB-calibrated physical scale of the sound horizon, the combination of BAO and SN data into an “inverse distance ladder” yields a measurement of
H0 =67.3 ± 1.1 km s-1 Mpc-1, with 1.7% precision. This measurement assumes standard prerecombination physics but is insensitive to assumptions about dark energy or space curvature, so agreement with CMB-based estimates that assume a flat Λ CDM cosmology is an important corroboration of this minimal cosmological model. For constant dark energy (Λ), our BAO + SN + CMB
combination yields matter density Ωm = 0.301 ± 0.008 and curvature Ωk = -0.003 ± 0.003. When we allow more general forms of evolving dark energy, the BAO + SN + CMB parameter constraints are always consistent with flat Λ CDM values at ≈1σ. While the overall χ2 of model fits is satisfactory, the LyaF BAO measurements are in moderate (2–2.5σ) tension with model predictions. Models with early dark energy that tracks the dominant energy component at high redshift remain consistent with our expansion history constraints, and they yield a higher H0 and lower matter clustering amplitude, improving agreement with some low redshift observations. Expansion history alone yields an upper limit on the summed mass of neutrino species, ∑mν (95% confidence), improving to ∑mν if we include the lensing signal in the Planck CMB power spectrum. In a flat Λ CDM model that allows extra relativistic species, our data combination yields Neff = 3.43 ± 0.26; while the LyaF BAO data prefer higher Neff when excluding galaxy BAO, the galaxy BAO alone favor Neff ≈ 3. When structure growth is extrapolated forward from the CMB to low redshift, standard dark energy models constrained by our data predict a level of matter clustering that is high compared to most, but not all, observational estimates
The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III
The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is designed to measure the scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter over a larger volume than the combined efforts of all previous spectroscopic surveys of large-scale structure. BOSS uses 1.5 million luminous galaxies as faint as i = 19.9 over 10,000 deg(2) to measure BAO to redshifts z < 0.7. Observations of neutral hydrogen in the Ly alpha forest in more than 150,000 quasar spectra (g < 22) will constrain BAO over the redshift range 2.15 < z < 3.5. Early results from BOSS include the first detection of the large-scale three-dimensional clustering of the Ly alpha forest and a strong detection from the Data Release 9 data set of the BAO in the clustering of massive galaxies at an effective redshift z = 0.57. We project that BOSS will yield measurements of the angular diameter distance d(A) to an accuracy of 1.0% at redshifts z = 0.3 and z = 0.57 and measurements of H(z) to 1.8% and 1.7% at the same redshifts. Forecasts for Ly alpha forest constraints predict a measurement of an overall dilation factor that scales the highly degenerate D-A(z) and H-1(z) parameters to an accuracy of 1.9% at z similar to 2.5 when the survey is complete. Here, we provide an overview of the selection of spectroscopic targets, planning of observations, and analysis of data and data quality of BOSS
SDSS-III: Massive Spectroscopic Surveys of the Distant Universe, the Milky Way Galaxy, and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems
Building on the legacy of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-I and II),
SDSS-III is a program of four spectroscopic surveys on three scientific themes:
dark energy and cosmological parameters, the history and structure of the Milky
Way, and the population of giant planets around other stars. In keeping with
SDSS tradition, SDSS-III will provide regular public releases of all its data,
beginning with SDSS DR8 (which occurred in Jan 2011). This paper presents an
overview of the four SDSS-III surveys. BOSS will measure redshifts of 1.5
million massive galaxies and Lya forest spectra of 150,000 quasars, using the
BAO feature of large scale structure to obtain percent-level determinations of
the distance scale and Hubble expansion rate at z<0.7 and at z~2.5. SEGUE-2,
which is now completed, measured medium-resolution (R=1800) optical spectra of
118,000 stars in a variety of target categories, probing chemical evolution,
stellar kinematics and substructure, and the mass profile of the dark matter
halo from the solar neighborhood to distances of 100 kpc. APOGEE will obtain
high-resolution (R~30,000), high signal-to-noise (S/N>100 per resolution
element), H-band (1.51-1.70 micron) spectra of 10^5 evolved, late-type stars,
measuring separate abundances for ~15 elements per star and creating the first
high-precision spectroscopic survey of all Galactic stellar populations (bulge,
bar, disks, halo) with a uniform set of stellar tracers and spectral
diagnostics. MARVELS will monitor radial velocities of more than 8000 FGK stars
with the sensitivity and cadence (10-40 m/s, ~24 visits per star) needed to
detect giant planets with periods up to two years, providing an unprecedented
data set for understanding the formation and dynamical evolution of giant
planet systems. (Abridged)Comment: Revised to version published in The Astronomical Journa
Genetic effects on gene expression across human tissues
Characterization of the molecular function of the human genome and its variation across individuals is essential for identifying the cellular mechanisms that underlie human genetic traits and diseases. The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project aims to characterize variation in gene expression levels across individuals and diverse tissues of the human body, many of which are not easily accessible. Here we describe genetic effects on gene expression levels across 44 human tissues. We find that local genetic variation affects gene expression levels for the majority of genes, and we further identify inter-chromosomal genetic effects for 93 genes and 112 loci. On the basis of the identified genetic effects, we characterize patterns of tissue specificity, compare local and distal effects, and evaluate the functional properties of the genetic effects. We also demonstrate that multi-tissue, multi-individual data can be used to identify genes and pathways affected by human disease-associated variation, enabling a mechanistic interpretation of gene regulation and the genetic basis of diseas
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