Spectroscopy of the optical Einstein ring 0047-2808

We present optical and near-infrared spectroscopic observations of the optical Einstein ring 0047-2808. We detect both [OIII] lines 4959, 5007 near 2.3 micron, confirming the redshift of the lensed source as z=3.595. The Ly-a line is redshifted relative to the [OIII] line by 140+-20 km/s. Similar velocity shifts have been seen in nearby starburst galaxies. The [OIII] line is very narrow, 130 km/s FWHM. If the ring is the image of the centre of a galaxy the one-dimensional stellar velocity dispersion sigma=55 km/s is considerably smaller than the value predicted by Baugh et al. (1998) for the somewhat brighter Lyman-break galaxies. The Ly-a line is significantly broader than the [OIII] line, probably due to resonant scattering. The stellar central velocity dispersion of the early-type deflector galaxy at z=0.485 is 250+-30 km/s. This value is in good agreement both with the value predicted from the radius of the Einstein ring (and a singular isothermal sphere model for the deflector), and the value estimated from the D_n-sigma relation.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Foreign Body Reaction to Hyaluronic Acid (Restylane®): An Adverse Outcome of Lip Augmentation

Non-animal source hyaluronic acid (Restylane®) is a relatively new redefining dermal filler that is being employed with increasing frequency in the fields of dermatology and cosmetic/facial plastic surgery. We report a case of a 74-year-old woman who presented with a firm submucosal nodule of the lower lip, which clinically was thought to represent a benign neoplasm. An excisional biopsy revealed the presence of multiple cyst-like vacuolated areas surrounded by granulomatous tissue composed predominantly of histiocytes and foamy macrophages, consistent with a foreign body reaction. Subsequent to the pathology findings, the patient acknowledged that she had received injections of Restylane® to the lips approximately 6 months before discovering the nodule. She had not mentioned this to her dentist or oral and maxillofacial surgeon to whom she had been referred because she believed that these two events were not related. Although hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers reportedly have a low incidence of long term side effects, clinicians should be aware of the possible development of foreign body reactions to these injectable agents

Assessing short- and long-term modifications of steady-state water infiltration rate in an extensive Mediterranean green roof

Green roof detention capacity is related to the steady-state infiltration rate, is, of the growing medium. With the aim to investigate short- and long-term modifications of the detention capacity of an extensive Mediterranean green roof, three mini-disk infiltrometer (MDI) measurement campaigns were conducted at construction, after one season and after five years of operation. A laboratory experiment was designed to separately measure is in the upper and the lower part of the substrate profile. During the first operating season, field is increased by a factor of 2.4 and 1.9 for near-saturated (applied pressure head, h0 = -30 mm) and quasi-saturated conditions (h0 = -5 mm), respectively. Similar rainfall height did not induce significant modifications in the upper layer of the laboratory columns, even if contribution of small pores to water infiltration tended to increase. Differently, is significantly decreased by a factor of 3.4-5.3 in the lower layer. After the simulated rainfall, the upper layer was less packed (mean bulk density, & rho;b = 1.083 kg m-3) and the lower layer was more packed (& rho;b = 1.218 kg m-3) as compared with the initial density (& rho;b = 1.131 kg m-3) and the lower part enriched in small particles. Short-term modifications in the experimental plot were thus attributed to fine particles washing-off and bulk density decrease in the upper layer, yielding an overall more conductive porous medium. After five years of green roof operation, field is did not further increase thus showing that the washing/clogging mechanism was complete after one season or it was masked by counteracting processes, like root development and hydrophobicity

A randomised clinical trial (RCT) of a symbiotic mixture in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): effects on symptoms, colonic transit and quality of life

Purpose The aim of this study is to test in a doubleblinded, randomised placebo-controlled study the effects of a commercially available multi-strain symbiotic mixture on symptoms, colonic transit and quality of life in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients who meet Rome III criteria. Background There is only one other double-blinded RCT on a single-strain symbiotic mixture in IBS. Methods This is a double-blinded, randomised placebocontrolled study of a symbiotic mixture (Probinul, 5 g bid) over 4 weeks after 2 weeks of run-in. The primary endpoints were global satisfactory relief of abdominal flatulence and bloating. Responders were patients who reported at least 50 % of the weeks of treatment with global satisfactory relief. The secondary endpoints were change in abdominal bloating, flatulence, pain and urgency by a 100-mm visual analog scale, stool frequency and bowel functions on validated adjectival scales (Bristol Scale and sense of incomplete evacuation). Pre- and post-treatment colonic transit time (Metcalf) and quality of life (SF-36) were assessed. Results Sixty-four IBS patients (symbiotic n032, 64 % females, mean age 38.7±12.6 years) were studied. This symbiotic mixture reduced flatulence over a 4-week period of treatment (repeated-measures analysis of covariance, p<0.05). Proportions of responders were not significantly different between groups. At the end of the treatment, a longer rectosigmoid transit time and a significant improvement in most SF-36 scores were observed in the symbiotic group. Conclusions This symbiotic mixture has shown a beneficial effect in decreasing the severity of flatulence in IBS patients, a lack of adverse events and a good side-effect profile; however, it failed to achieve an improvement in global satisfactory relief of abdominal flatulence and bloating. Further studies are warranted

The XXL Survey VIII: MUSE characterisation of intracluster light in a z∼\sim0.53 cluster of galaxies

Within a cluster, gravitational effects can lead to the removal of stars from their parent galaxies. Gas hydrodynamical effects can additionally strip gas and dust from galaxies. The properties of the ICL can therefore help constrain the physical processes at work in clusters by serving as a fossil record of the interaction history. The present study is designed to characterise this ICL in a ~10^14 M_odot and z~0.53 cluster of galaxies from imaging and spectroscopic points of view. By applying a wavelet-based method to CFHT Megacam and WIRCAM images, we detect significant quantities of diffuse light. These sources were then spectroscopically characterised with MUSE. MUSE data were also used to compute redshifts of 24 cluster galaxies and search for cluster substructures. An atypically large amount of ICL has been detected in this cluster. Part of the detected diffuse light has a very weak optical stellar component and apparently consists mainly of gas emission, while other diffuse light sources are clearly dominated by old stars. Furthermore, emission lines were detected in several places of diffuse light. Our spectral analysis shows that this emission likely originates from low-excitation parameter gas. The stellar contribution to the ICL is about 2.3x10^9 yrs old even though the ICL is not currently forming a large number of stars. On the other hand, the contribution of the gas emission to the ICL in the optical is much greater than the stellar contribution in some regions, but the gas density is likely too low to form stars. These observations favour ram pressure stripping, turbulent viscous stripping, or supernovae winds as the origin of the large amount of intracluster light. Since the cluster appears not to be in a major merging phase, we conclude that ram pressure stripping is the most plausible process that generates the observed ICL sources.Comment: Accepted in A&A, english enhanced, figure location different than in the A&A version due to different style files, shortened abstrac

The ESO Key-Programme ``A Homogeneous Bright QSO Survey'' - I The Methods and the ``Deep'' Fields

This is the first paper in a series aimed at defining a statistically significant sample of QSOs in the range $15 < B < 18.75$ and $0.3 < z < 2.2$. The selection is carried out using direct plates obtained at the ESO and UK Schmidt Telescopes, scanned with the COSMOS facility and searched for objects with an ultraviolet excess. Follow-up spectroscopy, carried out at ESO La Silla, is used to classify each candidate. In this initial paper, we describe the scientific objectives of the survey; the selection and observing techniques used. We present the first sample of 285 QSOs ($M_B < -23$) in a 153 deg$^2$ area, covered by the six ``deep'' fields, intended to obtain significant statistics down $B \simeq 18.75$ with unprecedented photometric accuracy. From this database, QSO counts are determined in the magnitude range $17 < B < 18.75$.Comment: 21 pages uuencoded compressed postscript, to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplements, 199

Depopulation of dense α-synuclein aggregates is associated with rescue of dopamine neuron dysfunction and death in a new Parkinson's disease model.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the presence of α-synuclein aggregates known as Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, whose formation is linked to disease development. The causal relation between α-synuclein aggregates and PD is not well understood. We generated a new transgenic mouse line (MI2) expressing human, aggregation-prone truncated 1-120 α-synuclein under the control of the tyrosine hydroxylase promoter. MI2 mice exhibit progressive aggregation of α-synuclein in dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta and their striatal terminals. This is associated with a progressive reduction of striatal dopamine release, reduced striatal innervation and significant nigral dopaminergic nerve cell death starting from 6 and 12 months of age, respectively. In the MI2 mice, alterations in gait impairment can be detected by the DigiGait test from 9 months of age, while gross motor deficit was detected by rotarod test at 20 months of age when 50% of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta are lost. These changes were associated with an increase in the number and density of 20-500 nm α-synuclein species as shown by dSTORM. Treatment with the oligomer modulator anle138b, from 9 to 12 months of age, restored striatal dopamine release, prevented dopaminergic cell death and gait impairment. These effects were associated with a reduction of the inner density of large α-synuclein aggregates and an increase in dispersed small α-synuclein species as revealed by dSTORM. The MI2 mouse model recapitulates the progressive dopaminergic deficit observed in PD, showing that early synaptic dysfunction is associated to fine behavioral motor alterations, precedes dopaminergic axonal loss and neuronal death that become associated with a more consistent motor deficit upon reaching a certain threshold. Our data also provide new mechanistic insight for the effect of anle138b's function in vivo supporting that targeting α-synuclein aggregation is a promising therapeutic approach for PD

ESO Imaging Survey: infrared observations of CDF-S and HDF-S

This paper presents infrared data obtained from observations carried out at the ESO 3.5m New Technology Telescope (NTT) of the Hubble Deep Field South (HDF-S) and the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S). These data were taken as part of the ESO Imaging Survey (EIS) program, a public survey conducted by ESO to promote follow-up observations with the VLT. In the HDF-S field the infrared observations cover an area of ~53 square arcmin, encompassing the HST WFPC2 and STIS fields, in the JHKs passbands. The seeing measured in the final stacked images ranges from 0.79" to 1.22" and the median limiting magnitudes (AB system, 2" aperture, 5sigma detection limit) are J_AB~23.0, H_AB~22.8 and K_AB~23.0 mag. Less complete data are also available in JKs for the adjacent HST NICMOS field. For CDF-S, the infrared observations cover a total area of \~100 square arcmin, reaching median limiting magnitudes (as defined above) of J_AB~23.6 and K_AB~22.7 mag. For one CDF-S field H-band data are also available. This paper describes the observations and presents the results of new reductions carried out entirely through the un-supervised, high-throughput EIS Data Reduction System and its associated EIS/MVM C++-based image processing library developed, over the past 5 years, by the EIS project and now publicly available. The paper also presents source catalogs extracted from the final co-added images which are used to evaluate the scientific quality of the survey products, and hence the performance of the software. This is done comparing the results obtained in the present work with those obtained by other authors from independent data and/or reductions carried out with different software packages and techniques. The final science-grade catalogs and co-added images are available at CDS.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 13 pages, 12 figures; a full resolution version of the paper is available from http://www.astro.ku.dk/~lisbeth/eisdata/papers/4528.pdf ; related catalogs and images are available through http://www.astro.ku.dk/~lisbeth/eisdata