Detection of the pairwise kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect with BOSS DR11 and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

We present a new measurement of the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Using 600 square degrees of overlapping sky area, we evaluate the mean pairwise baryon momentum associated with the positions of 50,000 bright galaxies in the BOSS DR11 Large Scale Structure catalog. A non-zero signal arises from the large-scale motions of halos containing the sample galaxies. The data fits an analytical signal model well, with the optical depth to microwave photon scattering as a free parameter determining the overall signal amplitude. We estimate the covariance matrix of the mean pairwise momentum as a function of galaxy separation, using microwave sky simulations, jackknife evaluation, and bootstrap estimates. The most conservative simulation-based errors give signal-to-noise estimates between 3.6 and 4.1 for varying galaxy luminosity cuts. We discuss how the other error determinations can lead to higher signal-to-noise values, and consider the impact of several possible systematic errors. Estimates of the optical depth from the average thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich signal at the sample galaxy positions are broadly consistent with those obtained from the mean pairwise momentum signal.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

MRI Findings for Frozen Shoulder Evaluation: Is the Thickness of the Coracohumeral Ligament a Valuable Diagnostic Tool?

Recent studies have demonstrated that the coracohumeral ligament (CHL) is shortened and thickened in a frozen shoulder. We analyzed the rate in CHL visualization between patients with frozen shoulder and normal volunteers using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to determine the CHL thickness in the patients with a frozen shoulder.>0.05).MR Imaging is a satisfactory method for CHL depiction, and a thickened CHL is highly suggestive of frozen shoulder

Metabolic suppression in thecosomatous pteropods as an effect of low temperature and hypoxia in the eastern tropical North Pacific

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Biology 159 (2012): 1955-1967, doi:10.1007/s00227-012-1982-x.Many pteropod species in the eastern tropical north Pacific Ocean migrate vertically each day, transporting organic matter and respiratory carbon below the thermocline. These migrations take species into cold (15-10ºC) hypoxic water (< 20 µmol O2 kg-1) at depth. We measured the vertical distribution, oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion for seven species of pteropod, some of which migrate and some which remain in oxygenated surface waters throughout the day. Within the upper 200 meters of the water column, changes in water temperature result in a ~60-75% reduction in respiration for most species. All three species tested under hypoxic conditions responded to low O2 with an additional ~35-50% reduction in respiratory rate. Combined, low temperature and hypoxia suppress the metabolic rate of pteropods by ~80-90%. These results shed light on the ways in which expanding regions of hypoxia and surface ocean warming may impact pelagic ecology.This work was funded by National Science Foundation grants to K. Wishner and B. Seibel (OCE – 0526502 and OCE – 0851043) and to K. Daly (OCE – 0526545), the University of Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Fellowship program.2013-06-3

Minimization of Biosynthetic Costs in Adaptive Gene Expression Responses of Yeast to Environmental Changes

Yeast successfully adapts to an environmental stress by altering physiology and fine-tuning metabolism. This fine-tuning is achieved through regulation of both gene expression and protein activity, and it is shaped by various physiological requirements. Such requirements impose a sustained evolutionary pressure that ultimately selects a specific gene expression profile, generating a suitable adaptive response to each environmental change. Although some of the requirements are stress specific, it is likely that others are common to various situations. We hypothesize that an evolutionary pressure for minimizing biosynthetic costs might have left signatures in the physicochemical properties of proteins whose gene expression is fine-tuned during adaptive responses. To test this hypothesis we analyze existing yeast transcriptomic data for such responses and investigate how several properties of proteins correlate to changes in gene expression. Our results reveal signatures that are consistent with a selective pressure for economy in protein synthesis during adaptive response of yeast to various types of stress. These signatures differentiate two groups of adaptive responses with respect to how cells manage expenditure in protein biosynthesis. In one group, significant trends towards downregulation of large proteins and upregulation of small ones are observed. In the other group we find no such trends. These results are consistent with resource limitation being important in the evolution of the first group of stress responses

Population ecology of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) as an invasive species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and an imperiled species in Europe

The sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus (Linnaeus) is both an invasive non-native species in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America and an imperiled species in much of its native range in North America and Europe. To compare and contrast how understanding of population ecology is useful for control programs in the Great Lakes and restoration programs in Europe, we review current understanding of the population ecology of the sea lamprey in its native and introduced range. Some attributes of sea lamprey population ecology are particularly useful for both control programs in the Great Lakes and restoration programs in the native range. First, traps within fish ladders are beneficial for removing sea lampreys in Great Lakes streams and passing sea lampreys in the native range. Second, attractants and repellants are suitable for luring sea lampreys into traps for control in the Great Lakes and guiding sea lamprey passage for conservation in the native range. Third, assessment methods used for targeting sea lamprey control in the Great Lakes are useful for targeting habitat protection in the native range. Last, assessment methods used to quantify numbers of all life stages of sea lampreys would be appropriate for measuring success of control in the Great Lakes and success of conservation in the native range