Emission Line Galaxies in the STIS Parallel Survey II: Star Formation Density

We present the luminosity function of [OII]-emitting galaxies at a median redshift of z=0.9, as measured in the deep spectroscopic data in the STIS Parallel Survey (SPS). The luminosity function shows strong evolution from the local value, as expected. By using random lines of sight, the SPS measurement complements previous deep single field studies. We calculate the density of inferred star formation at this redshift by converting from [OII] to H-alpha line flux as a function of absolute magnitude and find rho_dot=0.043 +/- 0.014 Msun/yr/Mpc^3 at a median redshift z~0.9 within the range 0.46<z<1.415 (H_0 = 70 km/s/Mpc, Omega_M=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7. This density is consistent with a (1+z)^4 evolution in global star formation since z~1. To reconcile the density with similar measurements made by surveys targeting H-alpha may require substantial extinction correction.Comment: 16 preprint pages including 5 figures; accepted for publication in Ap

Machines Versus Humans: The Counting and Recounting of Pre-Scored Punchcard Ballots

The counting of ballots, especially punchcard ballots, has received a great deal of attention in the years following the 2000 presidential election in Florida. Much of the research literature has focused on various measures of how accurately voting machines record voter intentions, with studies of the relative accuracy rates across voting machines (e.g., Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project 2001), studies of voting accuracy across groups of the electorate (Alvarez and Sinclair 2003), and studies that examine the variability in voting machine accuracy across both machine types and voter types (Alvarez, Sinclair and Wilson 2002; Ansolabehere 2002; Tomz and Van Houweling 2003).Carnegie Corporation of New York; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundatio

Measurements of the Diffuse Ultraviolet Background and the Terrestrial Airglow with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph

Far-UV observations in and near the Hubble Deep Fields demonstrate that the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) can potentially obtain unique and precise measurements of the diffuse far-ultraviolet background. Although STIS is not the ideal instrument for such measurements, high-resolution images allow Galactic and extragalactic objects to be masked to very faint magnitudes, thus ensuring a measurement of the truly diffuse UV signal. The programs we have analyzed were not designed for this scientific purpose, but would be sufficient to obtain a very sensitive measurement if it were not for a weak but larger-than-expected signal from airglow in the STIS 1450-1900 A bandpass. Our analysis shows that STIS far-UV crystal quartz observations taken near the limb during orbital day can detect a faint airglow signal, most likely from NI\1493, that is comparable to the dark rate and inseparable from the far-UV background. Discarding all but the night data from these datasets gives a diffuse far-ultraviolet background measurement of 501 +/- 103 ph/cm2/sec/ster/A, along a line of sight with very low Galactic neutral hydrogen column (N_HI = 1.5E20 cm-2) and extinction (E(B-V)=0.01 mag). This result is in good agreement with earlier measurements of the far-UV background, and should not include any significant contribution from airglow. We present our findings as a warning to other groups who may use the STIS far-UV camera to observe faint extended targets, and to demonstrate how this measurement may be properly obtained with STIS.Comment: 7 pages, Latex. 4 figures. Uses corrected version of emulateapj.sty and apjfonts.sty (included). Accepted for publication in A

A simplified model for minor and major loop magnetic hysteresis and its application for inference of temperature in induction heated particle beds

In this work, a LangArc model is presented that successfully fits both major and minor hysteresis loops of a bed of magnetic particles in real time using instruments that detect changes in the magnetic field strength, such as in-situ pick-up coils. A novel temperature measurement application is demonstrated based on a real-time characterisation of a magnetic material, in this case magnetite, as a function of temperature. Magnetic hysteresis can be used to provide useful induction heating in a packed bed of magnetic materials. This can be used for general heating and to provide energy to chemical reactions in chemical processes. Accurate temperature measurement of magnetic particles under induction heating is a well-known challenge: conventional techniques give a single-point measurement, and are subject to inaccuracy due to self-heating of the instrument tip. Thermal lag can be problematic given the rapid heating rates that are characteristic of induction heating. The LangArc inferred temperature measurement technique is shown to detect heating rates in excess of 30 °C·s−1, under which circumstances an in-bed thermocouple was shown to lag by as much as 180 °C. This new method has significant importance for temperature measurement in applications involving the induction heating of magnetic materials as it avoids the location of an instrument inside the magnetic particle bed and is highly responsive under rapid heating where other techniques can give misleading results.</p

Characterization of the fecal microbiome in cats with inflammatory bowel disease or alimentary small cell lymphoma.

Feline chronic enteropathy (CE) is a common gastrointestinal disorder in cats and mainly comprises inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and small cell lymphoma (SCL). Both IBD and SCL in cats share features with chronic enteropathies such as IBD and monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma in humans. The aim of this study was to characterize the fecal microbiome of 38 healthy cats and 27 cats with CE (13 cats with IBD and 14 cats with SCL). Alpha diversity indices were significantly decreased in cats with CE (OTU p = 0.003, Shannon Index p = 0.008, Phylogenetic Diversity p = 0.019). ANOSIM showed a significant difference in bacterial communities, albeit with a small effect size (P = 0.023, R = 0.073). Univariate analysis and LEfSE showed a lower abundance of facultative anaerobic taxa of the phyla Firmicutes (families Ruminococcaceae and Turicibacteraceae), Actinobacteria (genus Bifidobacterium) and Bacteroidetes (i.a. Bacteroides plebeius) in cats with CE. The facultative anaerobic taxa Enterobacteriaceae and Streptococcaceae were increased in cats with CE. No significant difference between the microbiome of cats with IBD and those with SCL was found. Cats with CE showed patterns of dysbiosis similar to those in found people with IBD

Corticosterone Acts in the Nucleus Accumbens to Enhance Dopamine Signaling and Potentiate Reinstatement of Cocaine Seeking

Stressful life events are important contributors to relapse in recovering cocaine addicts, but the mechanisms by which they influence motivational systems are poorly understood. Studies suggest that stress may “set the stage” for relapse by increasing the sensitivity of brain reward circuits to drug-associated stimuli. We examined the effects of stress and corticosterone on behavioral and neurochemical responses of rats to a cocaine prime after cocaine self-administration and extinction. Exposure of rats to acute electric footshock stress did not by itself reinstate drug-seeking behavior but potentiated reinstatement in response to a subthreshold dose of cocaine. This effect of stress was not observed in adrenalectomized animals, and was reproduced in nonstressed animals by administration of corticosterone at a dose that reproduced stress-induced plasma levels. Pretreatment with the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU38486 did not block the corticosterone effect. Corticosterone potentiated cocaine-induced increases in extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and pharmacological blockade of NAc dopamine receptors blocked corticosterone-induced potentiation of reinstatement. Intra-accumbens administration of corticosterone reproduced the behavioral effects of stress and systemic corticosterone. Corticosterone treatment acutely decreased NAc dopamine clearance measured by fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, suggesting that inhibition of uptake2-mediated dopamine clearance may underlie corticosterone effects. Consistent with this hypothesis, intra-accumbens administration of the uptake2 inhibitor normetanephrine potentiated cocaine-induced reinstatement. Expression of organic cation transporter 3, a corticosterone-sensitive uptake2 transporter, was detected on NAc neurons. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which stress hormones can rapidly regulate dopamine signaling and contribute to the impact of stress on drug intake

Parallélisation et optimisation d'un simulateur de morphogénèse d'organes. Application aux éléments du rein

Depuis plusieurs dizaines d années, la modélisation du vivant est un enjeu majeur qui nécessite de plus en plus de travaux dans le domaine de la simulation. En effet, elle ouvre la porte à toute une palette d applications: l aide à la décision en environnement et en écologie, l aide à l enseignement, l aide à la décision pour les médecins, l aide à la recherche de nouveaux traitements pharmaceutiques et la biologie dite prédictive , etc. Avant de pouvoir aborder un problème, il est nécessaire de pouvoir modéliser de façon précise le système biologique concerné en précisant bien les questions auxquelles devra répondre le modèle. La manipulation et l étude de systèmes complexes, les systèmes biologiques en étant l archétype, pose, de façon générale, des problèmes de modélisation et de simulation. C est dans ce contexte que la société Integrative BioComputing (IBC) développe depuis le début des années 2000 un prototype d une Plateforme Générique de Modélisation et de Simulation(la PGMS) dont le but est de fournir un environnement pour modéliser et simuler plus simplement les processus et les fonctions biologiques d un organisme complet avec les organes le composant. La PGMS étant une plateforme générique encore en phase de développement, elle ne possédait pas les performances nécessaires pour permettre de réaliser la modélisation et la simulation d éléments importants dans des temps suffisamment courts. Il a donc été décidé, afin d améliorer drastiquement les performances de la PGMS, de paralléliser et d optimiser l implémentation de celle-ci; le but étant de permettre la modélisation et la simulation d organes complets dans des temps acceptables. Le travail réalisé au cours de cette thèse a donc consisté à traiter différents aspects de la modélisation et de la simulation de systèmes biologiques afin d accélérer les traitements de ceux-ci. Le traitement le plus gourmand en termes de temps de calcul lors de l exécution de la PGMS, le calcul des champs physicochimiques, a ainsi fait l objet d une étude de faisabilité de sa parallélisation. Parmi les différentes architectures disponibles pour paralléliser une telle application, notre choix s est porté sur l utilisation de GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) à des fins de calculs généralistes aussi couramment appelé GPGPU (General-Purpose computation on Graphics Processing Units). Ce choix a été réalisé du fait, entre autres, du coût réduit du matériel et de sa très grande puissance de calcul brute qui en fait une des architectures de parallélisation les plus accessibles du marché. Les résultats de l étude de faisabilité étant particulièrement concluant, la parallélisation du calcul des champs a ensuite été intégrée à la PGMS. En parallèle, nous avons également mené des travaux d optimisations pour améliorer les performances séquentielles de la PGMS. Le résultat de ces travaux est une augmentation de la vitesse d exécution d un facteur 18,12x sur les simulations les plus longues (passant de 16 minutes pour la simulation non optimisée utilisant un seul cœur CPU à 53 secondes pour la version optimisée utilisant toujours un seul cœur CPU mais aussi un GPU GTX500). L autre aspect majeur traité dans ces travaux a été d améliorer les performances algorithmiques pour la simulation d automates cellulaires en trois dimensions. En effet, ces derniers permettent aussi bien de simuler des comportements biologiques que d implémenter des mécanismes de modélisation tels que les interactions multi-échelles. Le travail de recherche s est essentiellement effectué sur des propositions algorithmiques originales afin d améliorer les simulations réalisées par IBC sur la PGMS. L accélération logicielle, à travers l implémentation de l algorithme Hash Life en trois dimensions, et la parallélisation à l aide de GPGPU ont été étudiées de façon concomitante et ont abouti à des gains très significatifs en temps de calcul.For some years, living matter modeling has been a major challenge which needs more and more research in the simulation field. Indeed, the use of models of living matter have multiple applications: decision making aid in environment or ecology, teaching tools, decision making aid for physician, research aid for new pharmaceutical treatment and predictive biology, etc. But before being able to tackle all these issues, the development of a correct model, able to give answer about specific questions, is needed. Working with complex systems biologic system being the archetype of them raises various modeling and simulation issues. It is in this context that the Integrative BioComputing (IBC) company have been elaborating, since the early 2000s, the prototype of a generic platform for modeling and simulation (PGMS). Its goal is to provide a platform used to easily model and simulate biological process of a full organism, including its organs. Since the PGMS was still in its development stage at the start of my PhD, the application performance prevented the modeling and simulation of large biological components in an acceptable time. Therefore, it has been decide to optimize and parallelize its computation to increase significantly the PGMS performances. The goal was to enable the use of the PGMS to model and simulate full organs in acceptable times. During my PhD, I had to work on various aspects of the modeling and simulation of biological systems to increase their process speed. Since the most costly process during the PGMS execution was the computation of chemical fields, I had to study the opportunity of parallelizing this process. Among the various hardware architectures available to parallelize this application, we chose to use graphical processing units for general purpose computation (GPGPUs). This choice was motivated, beside other reasons, by the low cost of the hardware compared to its massive computation power, making it one of the most affordable parallel architecture on the market. Since the results of the initial feasibility study were conclusive, the parallelization of the fields computation has been integrated into the PGMS. In parallel to this work, I also worked on optimizing the sequential performance of the application. All these works lead to an increase of the software performances achieving a speed-up of 18.12x for the longest simulation (from 16 minutes for the non-optimized version with one CPU core to 53 seconds for the optimized version, still using only one core on the CPU but also a GPU GTX500). The other major aspect of my work was to increase the algorithmic performances for the simulation of three-dimensional cellular automata. In fact, these automata allow the simulation of biological behavior as they can be used to implement various mechanisms of a model such as multi-scale interactions. The research work consisted mainly in proposing original algorithms to improve the simulation provided by IBC on the PGMS. The sequential speed increase, thanks to the three-dimensional Hash Life implementation, and the parallelization on GPGPU has been studied together and achieved major computation time improvement.CLERMONT FD-Bib.électronique (631139902) / SudocSudocFranceF

Properties of Low-Lying Heavy-Light Mesons

We present preliminary results for the B meson decay constant and masses of low-lying heavy-light mesons in the static limit. Calculations were performed on the lattice in the quenched approximation using multistate smearing functions generated from a Hamiltonian for a spinless relativistic quark. The 2S--1S and 1P--1S mass splittings are measured. Using the 1P--1S charmonium splitting to set the overall scale, the ground state decay constant, f_B, is 319 +- 11 (stat) MeV.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, UCLA/92/TEP/4

Emission Line Galaxies in the STIS Parallel Survey I: Observations and Data Analysis

In the first three years of operation STIS obtained slitless spectra of approximately 2500 fields in parallel to prime HST observations as part of the STIS Parallel Survey (SPS). The archive contains almost 300 fields at high galactic latitude (|b|>30) with spectroscopic exposure times greater than 3000 seconds. This sample contains 220 fields (excluding special regions and requiring a consistent grating angle) observed between 6 June 1997 and 21 September 2000, with a total survey area of about 160 square arcminutes. At this depth, the SPS detects an average of one emission line galaxy per three fields. We present the analysis of these data, and the identification of 131 low to intermediate redshift galaxies detected by optical emission lines. The sample contains 78 objects with emission lines that we infer to be redshifted [OII]3727 emission at 0.43<z<1.7. The comoving number density of these objects is comparable to that of H-alpha emitting galaxies in the NICMOS parallel observations. One quasar and three probable Seyfert galaxies are detected. Many of the emission-line objects show morphologies suggestive of mergers or interactions. The reduced data are available upon request from the authors.Comment: 58 preprint pages, including 26 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ

Masses and Decay Constants of Heavy-Light Mesons Using the Multistate Smearing Technique

We present results for f_B and masses of low-lying heavy-light mesons. Calculations were performed in the quenched approximation using multistate smearing functions generated from a spinless relativistic quark model Hamiltonian. Beta values range from 5.7 to 6.3, and light quark masses corresponding to pion masses as low as 300 MeV are computed at each value. We use the 1P--1S charmonium splitting to set the overall scale.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures, and 5 tables as a single 193K compressed and uuencoded Postscript file, FERMILAB--CONF--93/376-