135 research outputs found
F-VIPGI: a new adapted version of VIPGI for FORS2 spectroscopy. Application to a sample of 16 X-ray selected galaxy clusters at 0.6 < z < 1.2
The goal of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we present F-VIPGI, a new version
of the VIMOS Interactive Pipeline and Graphical Interface (VIPGI) adapted to
handle FORS2 spectroscopic data. Secondly, we investigate the
spectro-photometric properties of a sample of galaxies residing in distant
X-ray selected galaxy clusters, the optical spectra of which were reduced with
this new pipeline. We provide basic technical information about the innovations
of the new software and, as a demonstration of the capabilities of the new
pipeline, we show results obtained for 16 distant (0.65 < z < 1.25) X-ray
luminous galaxy clusters selected within the XMM-Newton Distant Cluster
Project. We performed a spectral indices analysis of the extracted optical
spectra of their members, based on which we created a library of composite high
signal-to-noise ratio spectra representative of passive and star-forming
galaxies residing in distant galaxy clusters. The spectroscopic templates are
provided to the community in electronic form. By comparing the
spectro-photometric properties of our templates with the local and distant
galaxy population residing in different environments, we find that passive
galaxies in clusters appear to be well evolved already at z = 0.8 and even more
so than the field galaxies at similar redshift. Even though these findings
would point toward a significant acceleration of galaxy evolution in densest
environments, we cannot exclude the importance of the mass as the main
evolutionary driving element either. The latter effect may indeed be justified
by the similarity of our composite passive spectrum with the luminous red
galaxies template at intermediate redshift.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, in press on Astronomy and Astrophysic
Use of balloon catheter dilation and steroid-eluting stent in light and severe rhinosinusitis of frontal sinus: a multicenter retrospective randomized study
OBJECTIVE: Frontal sinus surgery has an increased rate of re-stenosis, if compared to other sinuses, that mainly depends on recurrent inflammation and abnormal scarring at the frontal recess; its reduction represents one of the keys of therapeutic success. Balloon catheter dilation (BCD) and implantable sinus stents/spacers represent strategies to improve sinus ventilation respecting the integrity of mucosa and reducing abnormal post-surgical scarring. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and correct indication for the use of BCD and a non-absorbable stent (Relieva Stratusâą MicroFlow spacer) in the management of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) of the frontal sinus. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this multicentric retrospective study we included a population of 76 frontal sinuses with non-polypoid CRS. Forty-one frontal sinuses were treated with BCD alone and 35 with BCD + Spacer. We analysed both radiological (Lund-McKay CT scoring modified by Zienrich) and symptomatologic results (SNOT-20 questionnaire) before surgery and after 12 months, dividing patients in two main groups: group âLâ (light/mild frontal CRS) and group âSâ (moderate/severe frontal CRS). RESULTS: Our results confirm a good safety and effectiveness of BCD in management of frontal CRS and show a good safety, although without significant effectiveness, of Relieva Stratusâą MicroFlow spacer when added to BCD in the management of light and severe frontal CRS. CONCLUSIONS: BCD is an option in management of frontal CRS; the use of stents/spacers could become a new and effective tool in management of CSR, both in addition to standard therapies and in patients where the use of systemic drugs is contraindicated
SIPGI: an interactive pipeline for spectroscopic data reduction
SIPGI is a spectroscopic pipeline for the data reduction of
optical/near-infrared data acquired by slit-based spectrographs. SIPGI is a
complete spectroscopic data reduction environment retaining the high level of
flexibility and accuracy typical of the standard "by-hand" reduction methods
but with a significantly higher level of efficiency. This is obtained
exploiting three main concepts: 1) a built-in data organiser to classify the
data, together with a graphical interface; 2) the instrument model (analytic
description of the main calibration relations); 3) the design and flexibility
of the reduction recipes: the number of tasks required to perform a complete
reduction is minimised, preserving the possibility to verify the accuracy of
the main stages of data-reduction process. The current version of SIPGI manages
data from the MODS and LUCI spectrographs mounted at the Large Binocular
Telescope (LBT) with the idea to extend SIPGI to support other through-slit
spectrographs.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure, to appear in proceedings of the Astronomical Data
Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) XXXII, virtual conference held 31
October - 4 November 202
PNGS: an API Ecosystem for Astronomical Applications Development
PNGS (Pandora Next Generation Software) is a collection of object oriented Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) implementing a broad set of functionalities and routines aimed at the manipulation of spectroscopic astronomical data. In particular a subset of GUI-oriented APIs are available. Based on the FASE (see Grosböl et al. (2012)) framework, PNGS offers a fully customizable software ecosystem which allows to develop applications spanning the whole spectroscopic data life cycle, from data classification to its organization on disk, analysis, reduction, visualization and archiving
Easylife: a Conceptual Framework for Semi-automatic Survey Management
Easylife is a conceptual framework aimed at the semi-automatic management of spectroscopic surveys. Conceived in 2012 (Garilli et al. 2012) as a tool to manage the VIPERS spectroscopic survey (Guzzo et al. 2014) and based on a prototype version of the FASE framework (Grosböl et al. 2012), it evolved into a survey-independent generalised framework following the MVC (Model-View-Controller) paradigm. Easylife has been deeply modified to exploit PNGS (Pandora Next Generation Software) APIs (Fumana et al. 2019) and FASE stable version, and is currently used to manage the ongoing VANDELS ESO public spectroscopic survey carried out using the VIMOS@VLT spectrograph
SIPGI Documentation
We present Sipgi, a spectroscopic pipeline to reduce optical/near-infrared data from slit-based spectrographs. Sipgi is a complete spectroscopic data reduction environment, which retains the high level of flexibility and accuracy typical of the standard âby-handâ reduction methods but is characterized by a significantly higher level of efficiency. The current version of Sipgi manages data from the MODS and LUCI spectrographs mounted at the Large Binocular Telescope
1.65 micron H-band Surface Photometry of Galaxies. X: Structural and Dynamical Properties of Elliptical Galaxies
We analyse the structural and dynamical properties of a sample of 324 nearby
elliptical and dwarf elliptical galaxies observed during an extensive NIR
survey in H-band (1.65 micron). The Fundamental Plane (FP) is determined and a
significant tilt is assessed. The origins of such a tilt are investigated by
means of a spherically symmetric, isotropic pressure supported dynamical model
relying on the observed surface brightness profiles. The systematic variation
of the shape coefficient converting the measured central velocity dispersion into the virial rms velocity is found to be the main
cause of the tilt, due to aperture effects. Moreover the ratio between the
dynamical mass and the total H-band luminosity turns out to be
roughly constant along the luminosity sequence of ellipticals: H-band
luminosity is therefore a reliable and cheap estimator of the dynamical mass of
the Es.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication on Ap
The zCOSMOS 10k-Bright Spectroscopic Sample
We present spectroscopic redshifts of a large sample of galaxies with I_(AB) < 22.5 in the COSMOS field, measured from spectra of 10,644 objects that have been obtained in the first two years of observations in the zCOSMOS-bright redshift survey. These include a statistically complete subset of 10,109 objects. The average accuracy of individual redshifts is 110 km s^(â1), independent of redshift. The reliability of individual redshifts is described by a Confidence Class that has been empirically calibrated through repeat spectroscopic observations of over 600 galaxies. There is very good agreement between spectroscopic and photometric redshifts for the most secure Confidence Classes. For the less secure Confidence Classes, there is a good correspondence between the fraction of objects with a consistent photometric redshift and the spectroscopic repeatability, suggesting that the photometric redshifts can be used to indicate which of the less secure spectroscopic redshifts are likely right and which are probably wrong, and to give an indication of the nature of objects for which we failed to determine a redshift. Using this approach, we can construct a spectroscopic sample that is 99% reliable and which is 88% complete in the sample as a whole, and 95% complete in the redshift range 0.5 < z < 0.8. The luminosity and mass completeness levels of the zCOSMOS-bright sample of galaxies is also discussed
P1245 Polymorphic Variants of HSD3B1 Gene Confer Different Outcome in Specific Subgroups of Patients Infected With SARS-CoV-2
Introduction: Severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) uses the androgen receptor (AR), through ACE2 receptor and TMPRSS2, to enter nasal and upper airways epithelial cells. Genetic analyses revealed that HSD3B1 P1245C polymorphic variant increases dihydrotestosterone production and upregulation of TMPRSS2 with respect to P1245A variant, thus possibly influencing SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our aim was to characterize the HSD3B1 polymorphism status and its potential association with clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Southern Switzerland. Materials and Methods: The cohort included 400 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 during the first wave between February and May 2020 in two different hospitals of Canton Ticino. Genomic DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks, and HSD3B1 gene polymorphism was evaluated by Sanger sequencing. Statistical associations were verified using different test. Results: HSD3B1 polymorphic variants were not associated with a single classical factor related to worse clinical prognosis in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2. However, in specific subgroups, HSD3B1 variants played a clinical role: intensive care unit admission was more probable in patients with P1245C diabetes compared with P1245A individuals without this comorbidity and death was more associated with hypertensive P1245A>C cases than patients with P1245A diabetes without hypertension. Discussion: This is the first study showing that HSD3B1 gene status may influence the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. If confirmed, our results could lead to the introduction of HSD3B1 gene status analysis in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 to predict clinical outcome.
Keywords: HSD3B1 gene polymorphism; Likelihood-ratio tests; SARS-CoV-2; androgen receptor; direct sequencing
The STAGES view of red spirals and dusty red galaxies: Mass-dependent quenching of star-formation in cluster infall
We investigate the properties of optically passive spirals and dusty red
galaxies in the A901/2 cluster complex at redshift ~0.17 using restframe
near-UV-optical SEDs, 24 micron IR data and HST morphologies from the STAGES
dataset. The cluster sample is based on COMBO-17 redshifts with an rms
precision of sigma_cz~2000 km/sec. We find that 'dusty red galaxies' and
'optically passive spirals' in A901/2 are largely the same phenomenon, and that
they form stars at a substantial rate, which is only 4x lower than that in blue
spirals at fixed mass. This star formation is more obscured than in blue
galaxies and its optical signatures are weak. They appear predominantly in the
stellar mass range of log M*/Msol=[10,11] where they constitute over half of
the star-forming galaxies in the cluster; they are thus a vital ingredient for
understanding the overall picture of star formation quenching in clusters. We
find that the mean specific SFR of star-forming galaxies in the cluster is
clearly lower than in the field, in contrast to the specific SFR properties of
blue galaxies alone, which appear similar in cluster and field. Such a rich red
spiral population is best explained if quenching is a slow process and
morphological transformation is delayed even more. At log M*/Msol<10, such
galaxies are rare, suggesting that their quenching is fast and accompanied by
morphological change. We note, that edge-on spirals play a minor role; despite
being dust-reddened they form only a small fraction of spirals independent of
environment.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
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