3,639 research outputs found
Free-form lens model and mass estimation of the high redshift galaxy cluster ACT-CL J0102-4915, "El Gordo"
We examine the massive colliding cluster El Gordo, one of the most massive
clusters at high redshift. We use a free-form lensing reconstruction method
that avoids making assumptions about the mass distribution. We use data from
the RELICS program and identify new multiply lensed system candidates. The new
set of constraints and free-form method provides a new independent mass
estimate of this intriguing colliding cluster. Our results are found to be
consistent with earlier parametric models, indirectly confirming the
assumptions made in earlier work. By fitting a double gNFW profile to the lens
model, and extrapolating to the virial radius, we infer a total mass for the
cluster of M. We
estimate the uncertainty in the mass due to errors in the photometric
redshifts, and discuss the uncertainty in the inferred virial mass due to the
extrapolation from the lens model. We also find in our lens map a mass
overdensity corresponding to the large cometary tail of hot gas, reinforcing
its interpretation as a large tidal feature predicted by hydrodynamical
simulations that mimic El Gordo. Finally, we discuss the observed relation
between the plasma and the mass map, finding that the peak in the projected
mass map may be associated with a large concentration of colder gas, exhibiting
possible star formation. El Gordo is one of the first clusters that will be
observed with JWST, which is expected to unveil new high redshift lensed
galaxies around this interesting cluster, and provide a more accurate
estimation of its mass.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures. Updated figure
Assessment of processing technologies which may improve the nutritional composition of dairy products – Overview of progress
Among consumers there is a growing demand for food products with a natural nutritional-physiological advantage over comparable conventional products. As part of an EU funded project, ALP is examining the possible impact of processing on nutritionally valuable milk components, using the example of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA). The extent to which processing influences the CLA content of the end product was determined by literature research and own investigations of organic and conventional butter. Furthermore, new chemical, sensory-based and bio crystallization methods were evaluated by ALP and the University of Kassel to determine the oxidation stability of butter. In a further step the storage stability of CLA enriched and conventional butter was examined and the different methods will be compared. As a third objective a process for low-input CLA enrichment of milk fat (with a focus on alpine butter) has been developed. Since the process selected for the work is a physical enrichment process, it is accepted by international organic farming and food groups. Among the many benefits ascribed to CLA, it is believed to be an effective agent against cancer. The demand for foods with properties that promote human health is growing. The dairy industry has the opportunity to meet this demand by developing new dairy products with a nutritional-physiological function for the functional food market
Van der Waals density functional: Self-consistent potential and the nature of the van der Waals bond
We derive the exchange-correlation potential corresponding to the nonlocal
van der Waals density functional [M. Dion, H. Rydberg, E. Schroder, D. C.
Langreth, and B. I. Lundqvist, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 246401 (2004)]. We use this
potential for a self-consistent calculation of the ground state properties of a
number of van der Waals complexes as well as crystalline silicon. For the
latter, where little or no van der Waals interaction is expected, we find that
the results are mostly determined by semilocal exchange and correlation as in
standard generalized gradient approximations (GGA), with the fully nonlocal
term giving little effect. On the other hand, our results for the van der Waals
complexes show that the self-consistency has little effect at equilibrium
separations. This finding validates previous calculations with the same
functional that treated the fully nonlocal term as a post GGA perturbation. A
comparison of our results with wave-function calculations demonstrates the
usefulness of our approach. The exchange-correlation potential also allows us
to calculate Hellmann-Feynman forces, hence providing the means for efficient
geometry relaxations as well as unleashing the potential use of other standard
techniques that depend on the self-consistent charge distribution. The nature
of the van der Waals bond is discussed in terms of the self-consistent bonding
charge.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.
Quantum heuristic algorithm for traveling salesman problem
We propose a quantum heuristic algorithm to solve a traveling salesman
problem by generalizing Grover search. Sufficient conditions are derived to
greatly enhance the probability of finding the tours with extremal costs,
reaching almost to unity and they are shown characterized by statistical
properties of tour costs. In particular for a Gaussian distribution of the
tours along the cost we show that the quantum algorithm exhibits the quadratic
speedup of its classical counterpart, similarly to Grover search.Comment: Published versio
CD97 stabilises the immunological synapse between dendritic cells and T cells and is targeted for degradation by the Salmonella effector SteD.
The Salmonella enterica effector SteD depletes mature MHC class II (mMHCII) molecules from the surface of infected antigen-presenting cells through ubiquitination of the cytoplasmic tail of the mMHCII β chain. This requires the Nedd4 family HECT E3 ubiquitin ligase Wwp2 and a tumor-suppressing transmembrane protein adaptor Tmem127. Here, through a proteomic screen of dendritic cells, we found that SteD targets the plasma membrane protein CD97 for degradation by a similar mechanism. SteD enhanced ubiquitination of CD97 on K555 and mutation of this residue eliminated the effect of SteD on CD97 surface levels. We showed that CD97 localises to and stabilises the immunological synapse between dendritic cells and T cells. Removal of CD97 by SteD inhibited dendritic cell-T cell interactions and reduced T cell activation, independently of its effect on MHCII. Therefore, SteD suppresses T cell immunity by two distinct processes
Self-intersection local times of random walks: Exponential moments in subcritical dimensions
Fix , not necessarily integer, with . We study the -fold
self-intersection local time of a simple random walk on the lattice up
to time . This is the -norm of the vector of the walker's local times,
. We derive precise logarithmic asymptotics of the expectation of
for scales that are bounded from
above, possibly tending to zero. The speed is identified in terms of mixed
powers of and , and the precise rate is characterized in terms of
a variational formula, which is in close connection to the {\it
Gagliardo-Nirenberg inequality}. As a corollary, we obtain a large-deviation
principle for for deviation functions satisfying
t r_t\gg\E[\|\ell_t\|_p]. Informally, it turns out that the random walk
homogeneously squeezes in a -dependent box with diameter of order to produce the required amount of self-intersections. Our main tool is
an upper bound for the joint density of the local times of the walk.Comment: 15 pages. To appear in Probability Theory and Related Fields. The
final publication is available at springerlink.co
Discrete Improvement in Racial Disparity in Survival among Patients with Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: a 21-Year Population-Based Analysis
Purpose Recently, multiple clinical trials have demonstrated improved outcomes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. This study investigated if the improved survival is race dependent.
Patients and Methods Overall and cancer-specific survival of 77,490 White and Black patients with metastatic colorectal cancer from the 1988–2008 Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results registry were compared using unadjusted and multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression as well as competing risk analyses.
Results Median age was 69 years, 47.4 % were female and 86.0 % White. Median survival was 11 months overall, with an overall increase from 8 to 14 months between 1988 and 2008. Overall survival increased from 8 to 14 months for White, and from 6 to 13 months for Black patients. After multivariable adjustment, the following parameters were associated with better survival:
White, female, younger, better educated and married patients, patients with higher income and living in urban areas, patients with rectosigmoid junction and rectal cancer, undergoing cancer-directed surgery, having well/moderately differentiated, and N0 tumors (p<0.05 for all covariates). Discrepancies in overall survival based on race did not change significantly over time; however, there was a significant decrease of cancer-specific survival discrepancies over time between White and Black patients with a hazard ratio of 0.995 (95 % confidence interval 0.991–1.000) per year (p=0.03).
Conclusion A clinically relevant overall survival increase was found from 1988 to 2008 in this population-based analysis for both White and Black patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Although both White and Black patients benefitted from this improvement, a slight discrepancy between the two groups remained
RELICS: The Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey and the Brightest High-z Galaxies
Massive foreground galaxy clusters magnify and distort the light of objects behind them, permitting a view into both the extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxy populations. We present here the z ~ 6-8 candidate high-redshift galaxies from the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS), a Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope survey of 41 massive galaxy clusters spanning an area of ≈200 arcmin². These clusters were selected to be excellent lenses, and we find similar high-redshift sample sizes and magnitude distributions as the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH). We discover 257, 57, and eight candidate galaxies at z ~ 6, 7, and 8 respectively, (322 in total). The observed (lensed) magnitudes of the z ~ 6 candidates are as bright as AB mag ~23, making them among the brightest known at these redshifts, comparable with discoveries from much wider, blank-field surveys. RELICS demonstrates the efficiency of using strong gravitational lenses to produce high-redshift samples in the epoch of reionization. These brightly observed galaxies are excellent targets for follow-up study with current and future observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope
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