The Stellar Masses and Star Formation Histories of Galaxies at z ≈ 6: Constraints from Spitzer Observations in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey

Using the deep Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS), we study the stellar masses and star formation histories of galaxies at z approx 6 based on the i_(775)-band dropout sample selected from the GOODS fields. In total, we derive stellar masses for 53 i_(775)-band dropouts that have robust IRAC detections. These galaxies have typical stellar masses of ~10^(10) M_⊙ and typical ages of a couple of hundred million years, consistent with earlier results based on a smaller sample of z ≈ 6 galaxies. The existence of such massive galaxies at z ≈ 6 can be explained by at least one set of N-body simulations of the hierarchical paradigm. We also study 79 i_(775)-band dropouts that are invisible in the IRAC data and find that they are typically less massive by a factor of 10. These galaxies are much bluer than those detected by the IRAC, indicating that their luminosities are dominated by stellar populations with ages ≾ 40 Myr. Based on our mass estimates, we derive a lower limit to the global stellar mass density at z ≈ 6, which is 1.1-6.7 × 10^6 M_⊙ Mpc^(-3). The prospect of detecting the progenitors of the most massive galaxies at yet higher redshifts is explored. We also investigate the implication of our results for reionization and find that the progenitors of the galaxies comparable to those in our sample, even in the most optimized (probably unrealistic) scenario, cannot sustain the reionization for a period longer than ~2 Myr. Thus most of the photons required for reionization must have been provided by other sources, such as the progenitors of the dwarf galaxies that are far below our current detection capability

Analysis of margin classification systems for assessing the risk of local recurrence after soft tissue sarcoma resection

Purpose: To compare the ability of margin classification systems to determine local recurrence (LR) risk after soft tissue sarcoma (STS) resection. Methods: Two thousand two hundred seventeen patients with nonmetastatic extremity and truncal STS treated with surgical resection and multidisciplinary consideration of perioperative radiotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. Margins were coded by residual tumor (R) classification (in which microscopic tumor at inked margin defines R1), the R+1mm classification (in which microscopic tumor within 1 mm of ink defines R1), and the Toronto Margin Context Classification (TMCC; in which positive margins are separated into planned close but positive at critical structures, positive after whoops re-excision, and inadvertent positive margins). Multivariate competing risk regression models were created. Results: By R classification, LR rates at 10-year follow-up were 8%, 21%, and 44% in R0, R1, and R2, respectively. R+1mm classification resulted in increased R1 margins (726 v 278, P < .001), but led to decreased LR for R1 margins without changing R0 LR; for R0, the 10-year LR rate was 8% (range, 7% to 10%); for R1, the 10-year LR rate was 12% (10% to 15%) . The TMCC also showed various LR rates among its tiers (P < .001). LR rates for positive margins on critical structures were not different from R0 at 10 years (11% v 8%, P = .18), whereas inadvertent positive margins had high LR (5-year, 28% [95% CI, 19% to 37%]; 10-year, 35% [95% CI, 25% to 46%]; P < .001). Conclusion: The R classification identified three distinct risk levels for LR in STS. An R+1mm classification reduced LR differences between R1 and R0, suggesting that a negative but < 1-mm margin may be adequate with multidisciplinary treatment. The TMCC provides additional stratification of positive margins that may aid in surgical planning and patient education

The NextGen Model Atmosphere grid: II. Spherically symmetric model atmospheres for giant stars with effective temperatures between 3000 and 6800~K

We present the extension of our NextGen model atmosphere grid to the regime of giant stars. The input physics of the models presented here is nearly identical to the NextGen dwarf atmosphere models, however spherical geometry is used self-consistently in the model calculations (including the radiative transfer). We re-visit the discussion of the effects of spherical geometry on the structure of the atmospheres and the emitted spectra and discuss the results of NLTE calculations for a few selected models.Comment: ApJ, in press (November 1999), 13 pages, also available at http://dilbert.physast.uga.edu/~yeti/PAPERS and at ftp://calvin.physast.uga.edu/pub/preprints/NG-giants.ps.g

Advances in the identification of novel factors required in soybean nodulation, a process critical to sustainable agriculture and food security

Nodulation is a process of organogenesis that results from a symbiotic relationship between legume plants and soil-dwelling, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, called rhizobia. The rhizobia are housed in newly formed structures on the host roots, called nodules. Within nodules, the rhizobia fix atmospheric N2 into useable forms of nitrogen for the plant. This process is highly important to agriculture, as nitrogen is critical for plant growth and development and is typically the main component of fertilizers. Although fertilizers are effective, they are expensive and often pollute, making biological alternatives, such as legume nodulation, attractive for use in agriculture. Nodulation is regulated by the auto regulation of nodulation (AON) pathway, which enables the host plant to balance its needs between nitrogen acquisition and energy expenditure. Current research is elucidating the nodule development and AON signalling networks. Recent technological advances, such as RNA-sequencing, are revolutionizing the discovery of genes that are critical to nodulation. The discovery of such genes not only enhances our knowledge of the nodulation signalling network, but may help to underpin future work to isolate superior legume crops via modern breeding and engineering practices. Here, recent advances using the cutting-edge technique of RNA sequencing to identify new nodulation genes in soybean are discussed

Lifelong behavioral and neuropathological consequences of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury

Objective: Exposure to repetitive concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), has been linked with increased risk of long-term neurodegenerative changes, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). To date, preclinical studies largely have focused on the immediate aftermath of mTBI, with no literature on the lifelong consequences of mTBI in these models. This study provides the first account of lifelong neurobehavioral and histological consequences of repetitive mTBI providing unique insight into the constellation of evolving and ongoing pathologies with late survival. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice (aged 2–3 months) were exposed to either single or repetitive mild TBI or sham procedure. Thereafter, animals were monitored and assessed at 24 months post last injury for measures of motor coordination, learning deficits, cognitive function, and anxiety-like behavior prior to euthanasia and preparation of the brains for detailed neuropathological and protein biochemical studies. Results: At 24 months survival animals exposed to r-mTBI showed clear evidence of learning and working memory impairment with a lack of spatial memory and vestibule-motor vestibulomotor deficits compared to sham animals. Associated with these late behavioral deficits there was evidence of ongoing axonal degeneration and neuroinflammation in subcortical white matter tracts. Notably, these changes were also observed after a single mTBI, albeit to a lesser degree than repetitive mTBI. Interpretation: In this context, our current data demonstrate, for the first time, that rather than an acute, time limited event, mild TBI can precipitate a lifelong degenerative process. These data therefore suggest that successful treatment strategies should consider both the acute and chronic nature of mTBI

GOODS Spitzer IRAC Observations of High-z Galaxies

The Great Observatory Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) Spitzer Legacy Program has obtained ~23.2 hours of IRAC observations in the HDF-N and the CDF-S (~330 arcmin^2 in total), among which a sub-area of ~50 arcmin^2 in the HDF-N has been observed to a depth of ~72 hours. Utilizing these deep IRAC data, we study the stellar masses and star formation histories of galaxies at z ≈ 6. While some of the i-band dropouts selected by the GOODS ACS observations are detected by these IRAC observations, some of them are not. We find that the i_(775)-dropouts in the IRAC-detected sample typically have stellar masses of ~10^(10)M_⊙ and ages of a few hundred million years old, consistent with our earlier results based on a smaller sample in the HUDF. On the other hand, the i-dropouts in the IRAC-invisible sample are significantly younger and less massive. Using these results, we derive the lower limit of the global stellar density at z ≈ 6, and find that at least 0.2–1.1% of the stellar mass in our local universe has been locked in stars by z ≈ 6

Greenhouse and Field Evaluations of Entomopathogenic Nematodes (Nematode: Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae) for Control of Cabbage Maggot (Diopters: Anthomyiidae) on Cabbage

Entomb pathogenic nematodes-Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar (Oswego strain), Steinenema carpocapsae (Weiser) (NY001 strain), Steinemema carpocapsae (25 strain), Steinemema feltiae Filipjev (=Neoaplectana carpocapsae Weiser) (369 strain), Steinernema feltiae (27 strain), and Steinernema riobravus Cabanillas and Poinar (355 strain)-were examined for pathogenicity against cabbage maggot, Delia radicum (L.), larvae in the greenhouse and field. Applications (per plant) of 3,000 and 4,000 infective juveniles of S. feltiae (369 strain), 30,000 infective juveniles of H. bacteriophora (Oswego strain), and 300 and 30,000 infective juveniles of S. feltiae (27 strain) reduced the number of D. radicum that developed to pupae on potted cabbage plants. H. bacteriophora (Oswego) at applications of 3,000 and 30,000 infective juveniles per plant and S. feltiae (27 strain) at applications of 30,000 (but not 3,000) infective juveniles per plant significantly reduced root damage caused by larvae of D. radicum. Logarithmically increased dosages between 100 and 100,000 infective juveniles per plant of S. feltiae (27 strain) linearly reduced the number of D. radicum pupae that developed on potted cabbage plants and the damage caused to the roots by D. radicullarvae. Root and stem dry weights of cabbage plants infested with D. radicum were significantly greater for plants inoculated with 100,000 infective juveniles of S. feltiae (27 strain) than for plants not inoculated with nematodes. Nematode inoculation did not prevent significant losses in root or stem dry weights at dosages less than 100,000 infective juveniles per plant. Soil surface applications of 100,000 and 200,000 infective juveniles per plant of S. feltiae (27 strain) were more effective than subsurface applications in preventing damage by natural or augmented populations of D. radicum larvae on cabbage in the field. However, mortality rates of wax moth larvae exposed to soil samples treated with S. feltiae (27 strain) suggested that this nematode showed greater persistence when applied beneath rather than on the soil surfac

Breaking the Curve with CANDELS: A Bayesian Approach to Reveal the Non-Universality of the Dust-Attenuation Law at High Redshift

Dust attenuation affects nearly all observational aspects of galaxy evolution, yet very little is known about the form of the dust-attenuation law in the distant Universe. Here, we model the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies at z = 1.5--3 from CANDELS with rest-frame UV to near-IR imaging under different assumptions about the dust law, and compare the amount of inferred attenuated light with the observed infrared (IR) luminosities. Some individual galaxies show strong Bayesian evidence in preference of one dust law over another, and this preference agrees with their observed location on the plane of infrared excess (IRX, $L_{\text{TIR}}/L_{\text{UV}}$) and UV slope ($\beta$). We generalize the shape of the dust law with an empirical model, $A_{\lambda,\delta}=E(B-V)\ k_\lambda\ (\lambda/\lambda_V)^\delta$ where $k_\lambda$ is the dust law of Calzetti et al. (2000), and show that there exists a correlation between the color excess ${E(B-V)}$ and tilt $\delta$ with ${\delta=(0.62\pm0.05)\log(E(B-V))}$+ ${(0.26~\pm~0.02)}$. Galaxies with high color excess have a shallower, starburst-like law, and those with low color excess have a steeper, SMC-like law. Surprisingly, the galaxies in our sample show no correlation between the shape of the dust law and stellar mass, star-formation rate, or $\beta$. The change in the dust law with color excess is consistent with a model where attenuation is caused by by scattering, a mixed star-dust geometry, and/or trends with stellar population age, metallicity, and dust grain size. This rest-frame UV-to-near-IR method shows potential to constrain the dust law at even higher ($z>3$) redshifts.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, resubmitted to Ap

Focused Exhumation Along Megathrust Splay Faults in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Megathrust splay faults are a common feature of accretionary prisms and can be important for generating tsunamis during some subduction zone earthquakes. Here we provide new evidence from Alaska that megathrust splay faults have been conduits for focused exhumation in the last 5 Ma. In most of central Prince William Sound, published and new low-temperature thermochronology data indicate little to no permanent rock uplift over tens of thousands of earthquake cycles. However, in southern Prince William Sound on Montague Island, apatite (U–Th)/He ages are as young as 1.1 Ma indicating focused and rapid rock uplift. Montague Island lies in the hanging wall of the Patton Bay megathrust splay fault system, which ruptured during the 1964 M9.2 earthquake and produced ∼9 m of vertical uplift. Recent geochronology and thermochronology studies show rapid exhumation within the last 5 Ma in a pattern similar to the coseismic uplift in the 1964 earthquake, demonstrating that splay fault slip is a long term (3–5 my) phenomena. The region of slower exhumation correlates with rocks that are older and metamorphosed and constitute a mechanically strong backstop. The region of rapid exhumation consists of much younger and weakly metamorphosed rocks, which we infer are mechanically weak. The region of rapid exhumation is separated from the region of slow exhumation by the newly identified Montague Strait Fault. New sparker high-resolution bathymetry, seismic reflection profiles, and a 2012 Mw4.8 earthquake show this feature as a 75-km-long high-angle active normal fault. There are numerous smaller active normal(?) faults in the region between the Montague Strait Fault and the splay faults. We interpret this hanging wall extension as developing between the rapidly uplifting sliver of younger and weaker rocks on Montague Island from the essentially fixed region to the north. Deep seismic reflection profiles show the splay faults root into the subduction megathrust where there is probable underplating. Thus the exhumation and extension in the hanging wall are likely driven by underplating along the megathrust décollement, thickening in the overriding plate and a change in rheology at the Montague Strait Fault to form a structural backstop. A comparison with other megathrust splay faults around the world shows they have significant variability in their characteristics, and the conditions for their formation are not particularly unique