1,278 research outputs found
The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey - Infrared (NGVS-IR): I. A new Near-UV/Optical/Near-IR Globular Cluster selection tool
The NGVS-IR project (Next Generation Virgo Survey - Infrared) is a contiguous
near-infrared imaging survey of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. It complements
the optical wide-field survey of Virgo (NGVS). The current state of NGVS-IR
consists of Ks-band imaging of 4 deg^2 centered on M87, and J and Ks-band
imaging of 16 deg^2 covering the region between M49 and M87. In this paper, we
present the observations of the central 4 deg^2 centered on Virgo's core
region. The data were acquired with WIRCam on the Canada-France-Hawaii
Telescope and the total integration time was 41 hours distributed in 34
contiguous tiles. A survey-specific strategy was designed to account for
extended galaxies while still measuring accurate sky brightness within the
survey area. The average 5\sigma limiting magnitude is Ks=24.4 AB mag and the
50% completeness limit is Ks=23.75 AB mag for point source detections, when
using only images with better than 0.7" seeing (median seeing 0.54"). Star
clusters are marginally resolved in these image stacks, and Virgo galaxies with
\mu_Ks=24.4 AB mag arcsec^-2 are detected. Combining the Ks data with optical
and ultraviolet data, we build the uiK color-color diagram which allows a very
clean color-based selection of globular clusters in Virgo. This diagnostic plot
will provide reliable globular cluster candidates for spectroscopic follow-up
campaigns needed to continue the exploration of Virgo's photometric and
kinematic sub-structures, and will help the design of future searches for
globular clusters in extragalactic systems. Equipped with this powerful new
tool, future NGVS-IR investigations based on the uiK diagram will address the
mapping and analysis of extended structures and compact stellar systems in and
around Virgo galaxies.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Possible Seasonality of Clostridium difficile in Retail Meat, Canada
We previously reported Clostridium difficile in 20% of retail meat in Canada, which raised concerns about potential foodborne transmissibility. Here, we studied the genetic diversity of C. difficile in retail meats, using a broad Canadian sampling infrastructure and 3 culture methods. We found 6.1% prevalence and indications of possible seasonality (highest prevalence in winter)
The Chemical Evolution Carousel of Spiral Galaxies : Azimuthal Variations of Oxygen Abundance in NGC1365
19 pages, 13 figures. Accepted to ApJThe spatial distribution of oxygen in the interstellar medium of galaxies is the key to understanding how efficiently metals that are synthesized in massive stars can be redistributed across a galaxy. We present here a case study in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC1365 using 3D optical data obtained in the TYPHOON Program. We find systematic azimuthal variations of the HII region oxygen abundance imprinted on a negative radial gradient. The 0.2 dex azimuthal variations occur over a wide radial range of 0.3 to 0.7 R25 and peak at the two spiral arms in NGC1365. We show that the azimuthal variations can be explained by two physical processes: gas undergoes localized, sub-kpc scale self-enrichment when orbiting in the inter-arm region, and experiences efficient, kpc scale mixing-induced dilution when spiral density waves pass through. We construct a simple chemical evolution model to quantitatively test this picture and find that our toy model can reproduce the observations. This result suggests that the observed abundance variations in NGC1365 are a snapshot of the dynamical local enrichment of oxygen modulated by spiral-driven, periodic mixing and dilution.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Understanding Radio-Selected Thermal Sources in M 33: Ultraviolet, Optical, Near-Infrared, Spitzer Mid-Infrared, and Radio Observations
We present ultraviolet, optical, near-infrared, Spitzer mid-infrared, and
radio images of 14 radio-selected objects in M 33. These objects are thought to
represent the youngest phase of star cluster formation. We have detected the
majority of cluster candidates in M 33 at all wavelengths. From the near-IR
images, we derived ages 2-10 Myr, K_S-band extinctions (A_K_S) of 0-1 mag, and
stellar masses of 10^3-10^4 M_solar. We have generated spectral energy
distributions (SEDs) of each cluster from 0.1 micron to 160 microns. From these
SEDs, we have modeled the dust emission around these star clusters to determine
the dust masses (1-10^3 M_solar) and temperatures (40-90 K) of the clusters'
local interstellar medium. Extinctions derived from the JHK_S, Halpha, and UV
images are similar to within a factor of 2 or 3. These results suggest that
eleven of the fourteen radio-selected objects are optically-visible young star
clusters with a surrounding H II region, that two are background objects,
possibly AGN, and that one is a Wolf-Rayet star with a surrounding H II region.Comment: 57 pages total; 20 figures; 3 tables under review by ApJS; first
review complet
The SAMI Galaxy Survey: spatially resolved metallicity and ionization mapping
We present gas-phase metallicity and ionization parameter maps of 25 star-forming face-on spiral galaxies from the SAMI Galaxy Survey Data Release 1. Self-consistent metallicity and ionization parameter maps are calculated simultaneously through an iterative process to account for the interdependence of the strong emission line diagnostics involving ([O II]+[O III])/Hβ (R23) and [O III]/[O II](O32). The maps are created on a spaxel-by-spaxel basis because H II regions are not resolved at the SAMI spatial resolution. We combine the SAMI data with stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), effective radius (Re), ellipticity, and position angles (PA) from the GAMA survey to analyse their relation to the metallicity and ionization parameter. We find a weak trend of steepening metallicity gradient with galaxy stellar mass, with values ranging from −0.03 to −0.20 dex/Re. Only two galaxies show radial gradients in the ionization parameter. We find that the ionization parameter has no significant correlation with either SFR, sSFR (specific SFR), or metallicity. For several individual galaxies, we find the structure in the ionization parameter maps suggestive of spiral arm features. We find a typical ionization parameter range of 7.0 < log (q) < 7.8 for our galaxy sample with no significant overall structure. An ionization parameter range of this magnitude is large enough to caution the use of metallicity diagnostics that have not considered the effects of a varying ionization parameter distribution
The Fate of Firms: Explaining Mergers and Bankruptcies
Using a uniquely complete data set of more than 50,000 observations of approximately 16,000 corporations, we test theories that seek to explain which firms become merger targets and which firms go bankrupt. We find that merger activity is much greater during prosperous periods than during recessions. In bad economic times, firms in industries with high bankruptcy rates are less likely to file for bankruptcy than they are in better years, supporting the market illiquidity arguments made by Shleifer and Vishny (1992). At the firm level, we find that, among poorly performing firms, the likelihood of merger increases with poorer performance, but among better performing firms, the relation is reversed and chances of merger increase with better performance. Such a changing relation has not been detected in prior merger studies. We also find that low-growth, resource-rich firms are prime acquisition targets and that firms’ debt capacity relates negatively to the likelihood of a merger. Debt-related variables, leverage and secured debt, play an especially prominent role in distinguishing between which firms merge and which firms go bankrupt
The Chest Pain Choice trial: a pilot randomized trial of a decision aid for patients with chest pain in the emergency department
Background: Chest pain is a common presenting complaint in the emergency department (ED). Despite the frequency with which clinicians evaluate patients with chest pain, accurately determining the risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and sharing risk information with patients is challenging. The aims of this study are (1) to develop a decision aid (CHEST PAIN CHOICE) that communicates the short-term risk of ACS and (2) to evaluate the impact of the decision aid on patient participation in decision-making and resource use. Methods/Design: This is a protocol for a parallel, 2-arm randomized trial to compare an intervention group receiving CHEST PAIN CHOICE to a control group receiving usual ED care. Adults presenting to the Saint Mary's Hospital ED in Rochester, MN USA with a primary complaint of chest pain who are being considered for admission for prolonged ED observation in a specialized unit and urgent cardiac stress testing will be eligible for enrollment. We will measure the effect of CHEST PAIN CHOICE on six outcomes: (1) patient knowledge regarding their short-term risk for ACS and the risks of radiation exposure; (2) quality of the decision making process; (3) patient and clinician acceptability and satisfaction with the decision aid; (4) the proportion of patients who decided to undergo observation unit admission and urgent cardiac stress testing; (5) economic costs and healthcare utilization; and (6) the rate of delayed or missed ACS. To capture these outcomes, we will administer patient and clinician surveys after each visit, obtain video recordings of the clinical encounters, and conduct 30-day phone follow-up.
Discussion: This pilot randomized trial will develop and evaluate a decision aid for use in ED chest pain patients at low risk for ACS and provide a preliminary estimate of its effect on patient participation in decision-making and resource use
Optics and Quantum Electronics
Contains table of contents for Section 3 and reports on eighteen research projects.Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/MIT Lincoln Laboratory Contract MDA972-92-J-1038Joint Services Electronics Program Grant DAAH04-95-1-0038National Science Foundation Grant ECS 94-23737U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Contract F49620-95-1-0221U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-95-1-0715MIT Center for Material Science and EngineeringNational Center for Integrated Photonics Technology Contract DMR 94-00334National Center for Integrated Photonics TechnologyU.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (MFEL) Contract N00014-94-1-0717National Institutes of Health Grant 9-R01-EY11289MIT Lincoln Laboratory Contract BX-5098Electric Power Research Institute Contract RP3170-25ENEC
Genome-Wide Association Study Using Extreme Truncate Selection Identifies Novel Genes Affecting Bone Mineral Density and Fracture Risk
Osteoporotic fracture is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Low
bone mineral density (BMD) is a major predisposing factor to fracture and is
known to be highly heritable. Site-, gender-, and age-specific genetic effects
on BMD are thought to be significant, but have largely not been considered in
the design of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of BMD to date. We report
here a GWAS using a novel study design focusing on women of a specific age
(postmenopausal women, age 55–85 years), with either extreme high or low
hip BMD (age- and gender-adjusted BMD z-scores of +1.5 to +4.0,
n = 1055, or −4.0 to −1.5,
n = 900), with replication in cohorts of women drawn from
the general population (n = 20,898). The study replicates
21 of 26 known BMD–associated genes. Additionally, we report suggestive
association of a further six new genetic associations in or around the genes
CLCN7, GALNT3, IBSP, LTBP3, RSPO3, and
SOX4, with replication in two independent datasets. A novel
mouse model with a loss-of-function mutation in GALNT3 is also
reported, which has high bone mass, supporting the involvement of this gene in
BMD determination. In addition to identifying further genes associated with BMD,
this study confirms the efficiency of extreme-truncate selection designs for
quantitative trait association studies
The Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction of Star-forming Galaxies at from UVCANDELS
The UltraViolet Imaging of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep
Extragalactic Legacy Survey Fields (UVCANDELS) survey is a Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) Cycle-26 Treasury Program, allocated in total 164 orbits of
primary Wide-Field Camera 3 Ultraviolet and Visible light F275W imaging with
coordinated parallel Advanced Camera for Surveys F435W imaging, on four of the
five premier extragalactic survey fields: GOODS-N, GOODS-S, EGS, and COSMOS. We
introduce this survey by presenting a thorough search for galaxies at
that leak significant Lyman continuum (LyC) radiation, as well as
a stringent constraint on the LyC escape fraction () from stacking
the UV images of a population of star-forming galaxies with secure redshifts.
Our extensive search for LyC emission and stacking analysis benefit from the
catalogs of high-quality spectroscopic redshifts compiled from archival
ground-based data and HST slitless spectroscopy, carefully vetted by dedicated
visual inspection efforts. We report a sample of five galaxies as individual
LyC leaker candidates, showing estimated
using detailed Monte Carlo analysis of intergalactic medium attenuation. We
develop a robust stacking method to apply to five samples of in total 85
non-detection galaxies in the redshift range of . Most stacks
give tight 2- upper limits below . A stack
for a subset of 32 emission-line galaxies shows tentative LyC leakage detected
at 2.9-, indicating at ,
supporting the key role of such galaxies in contributing to the cosmic
reionization and maintaining the UV ionization background. These new F275W and
F435W imaging mosaics from UVCANDELS have been made publicly available on the
Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.Comment: 33 pages, 21 figures, and 5 tables. Resubmitted after addressing the
referee repor
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