The Impact of Non-Equipartition on Cosmological Parameter Estimation from Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Surveys

The collisionless accretion shock at the outer boundary of a galaxy cluster should primarily heat the ions instead of electrons since they carry most of the kinetic energy of the infalling gas. Near the accretion shock, the density of the intracluster medium is very low and the Coulomb collisional timescale is longer than the accretion timescale. Electrons and ions may not achieve equipartition in these regions. Numerical simulations have shown that the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich observables (e.g., the integrated Comptonization parameter Y) for relaxed clusters can be biased by a few percent. The Y-mass relation can be biased if non-equipartition effects are not properly taken into account. Using a set of hydrodynamical simulations, we have calculated three potential systematic biases in the Y-mass relations introduced by non-equipartition effects during the cross-calibration or self-calibration when using the galaxy cluster abundance technique to constraint cosmological parameters. We then use a semi-analytic technique to estimate the non-equipartition effects on the distribution functions of Y (Y functions) determined from the extended Press-Schechter theory. Depending on the calibration method, we find that non-equipartition effects can induce systematic biases on the Y functions, and the values of the cosmological parameters Omega_8, sigma_8, and the dark energy equation of state parameter w can be biased by a few percent. In particular, non-equipartition effects can introduce an apparent evolution in w of a few percent in all of the systematic cases we considered. Techniques are suggested to take into account the non-equipartition effect empirically when using the cluster abundance technique to study precision cosmology. We conclude that systematic uncertainties in the Y-mass relation of even a few percent can introduce a comparable level of biases in cosmological parameter measurements.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, abstract abridged slightly. Typos corrected in version

Probing intermediates in the activation cycle of [NiFe] hydrogenase by infrared spectroscopy: the Ni-SIr state and its light sensitivity

The [NiFe] hydrogenase from the sulphate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F is reversibly inhibited in the presence of molecular oxygen. A key intermediate in the reactivation process, Ni-SIr, provides the link between fully oxidized (Ni-A, Ni-B) and active (Ni-SIa, Ni-C and Ni-R) forms of hydrogenase. In this work Ni-SIr was found to be light-sensitive (T ≤ 110 K), similar to the active Ni-C and the CO-inhibited states. Transition to the final photoproduct state (Ni-SL) was shown to involve an additional transient light-induced state (Ni-SI1961). Rapid scan kinetic infrared measurements provided activation energies for the transition from Ni-SL to Ni-SIr in protonated as well as in deuterated samples. The inhibitor CO was found not to react with the active site of the Ni-SL state. The wavelength dependence of the Ni-SIr photoconversion was examined in the range between 410 and 680 nm. Light-induced effects were associated with a nickel-centred electronic transition, possibly involving a change in the spin state of nickel (Ni2+). In addition, at T ≤ 40 K the CN− stretching vibrations of Ni-SL were found to be dependent on the colour of the monochromatic light used to irradiate the species, suggesting a change in the interaction of the hydrogen-bonding network of the surrounding amino acids. A possible mechanism for the photochemical process, involving displacement of the oxygen-based ligand, is discussed

A novel formulation technology for baculoviruses protects biopesticide from degradation by ultraviolet radiation

Biopesticides are biological pest control agents that are viewed as safer alternatives to the synthetic chemicals that dominate the global insecticide market. A major constraint on the wider adoption of biopesticides is their susceptibility to the ultraviolet (UV: 290–400 nm) radiation in sunlight, which limits their persistence and efficacy. Here, we describe a novel formulation technology for biopesticides in which the active ingredient (baculovirus) is micro-encapsulated in an ENTOSTAT wax combined with a UV absorbant (titanium dioxide, TiO2). Importantly, this capsule protects the sensitive viral DNA from degrading in sunlight, but dissolves in the alkaline insect gut to release the virus, which then infects and kills the pest. We show, using simulated sunlight, in both laboratory bioassays and trials on cabbage and tomato plants, that this can extend the efficacy of the biopesticide well beyond the few hours of existing virus formulations, potentially increasing the spray interval and/or reducing the need for high application rates. The new formulation has a shelf-life at 30 °C of at least 6 months, which is comparable to standard commercial biopesticides and has no phytotoxic effect on the host plants. Taken together, these findings suggest that the new formulation technology could reduce the costs and increase the efficacy of baculovirus biopesticides, with the potential to make them commercially competitive alternatives to synthetic chemicals

Fitness Ranking of Individual Mutants Drives Patterns of Epistatic Interactions in HIV-1

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

HPV type-specific prevalence using a urine assay in unvaccinated male and female 11- to 18-year olds in Scotland

We conducted a baseline prevalence survey of unvaccinated 11- to 18-year olds to inform effectiveness studies for the new human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme in Scotland

Galactic and Extragalactic Samples of Supernova Remnants: How They Are Identified and What They Tell Us

Supernova remnants (SNRs) arise from the interaction between the ejecta of a supernova (SN) explosion and the surrounding circumstellar and interstellar medium. Some SNRs, mostly nearby SNRs, can be studied in great detail. However, to understand SNRs as a whole, large samples of SNRs must be assembled and studied. Here, we describe the radio, optical, and X-ray techniques which have been used to identify and characterize almost 300 Galactic SNRs and more than 1200 extragalactic SNRs. We then discuss which types of SNRs are being found and which are not. We examine the degree to which the luminosity functions, surface-brightness distributions and multi-wavelength comparisons of the samples can be interpreted to determine the class properties of SNRs and describe efforts to establish the type of SN explosion associated with a SNR. We conclude that in order to better understand the class properties of SNRs, it is more important to study (and obtain additional data on) the SNRs in galaxies with extant samples at multiple wavelength bands than it is to obtain samples of SNRs in other galaxiesComment: Final 2016 draft of a chapter in "Handbook of Supernovae" edited by Athem W. Alsabti and Paul Murdin. Final version available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20794-0_90-

Measurement of high-p_T Single Electrons from Heavy-Flavor Decays in p+p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

The momentum distribution of electrons from decays of heavy flavor (charm and beauty) for midrapidity |y| < 0.35 in p+p collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV has been measured by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) over the transverse momentum range 0.3 < p_T < 9 GeV/c. Two independent methods have been used to determine the heavy flavor yields, and the results are in good agreement with each other. A fixed-order-plus-next-to-leading-log pQCD calculation agrees with the data within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties, with the data/theory ratio of 1.72 +/- 0.02^stat +/- 0.19^sys for 0.3 < p_T < 9 GeV/c. The total charm production cross section at this energy has also been deduced to be sigma_(c c^bar) = 567 +/- 57^stat +/- 224^sys micro barns.Comment: 375 authors from 57 institutions, 6 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letters. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Integrin CD11b positively regulates TLR4-induced signalling pathways in dendritic cells but not in macrophages.

Tuned and distinct responses of macrophages and dendritic cells to Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) underpin the balance between innate and adaptive immunity. However, the molecule(s) that confer these cell-type-specific LPS-induced effects remain poorly understood. Here we report that the integrin α(M) (CD11b) positively regulates LPS-induced signalling pathways selectively in myeloid dendritic cells but not in macrophages. In dendritic cells, which express lower levels of CD14 and TLR4 than macrophages, CD11b promotes MyD88-dependent and MyD88-independent signalling pathways. In particular, in dendritic cells CD11b facilitates LPS-induced TLR4 endocytosis and is required for the subsequent signalling in the endosomes. Consistent with this, CD11b deficiency dampens dendritic cell-mediated TLR4-triggered responses in vivo leading to impaired T-cell activation. Thus, by modulating the trafficking and signalling functions of TLR4 in a cell-type-specific manner CD11b fine tunes the balance between adaptive and innate immune responses initiated by LPS

Incidence of genital warts among the Hong Kong general adult population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study is to estimate the incidence of genital warts in Hong Kong and explore a way to establish a surveillance system for genital warts among the Hong Kong general population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 170 private doctors and all doctors working in the 5 local Social Hygiene Clinics (SHC) participated in this study. During the 14-day data collection period (January 5 through18, 2009), the participating doctors filled out a log-form on a daily basis to record the number of patients with genital warts. The total number of new cases of genital warts presented to private and public doctors in Hong Kong was projected using the stratification sampling method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 721 (0.94%) adults presented with genital warts to the participating doctors during the two-week study period, amongst them 73 (10.1%) were new cases. The projected number of new cases of genital warts among Hong Kong adults was 442 (297 male and 144 female) during the study period. The incidence of genital warts in Hong Kong was estimated to be 203.7 per 100,000 person-years (respectively 292.2 and 124.9 per 100,000 person-years for males and females).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The incidence of genital warts is high among adults in Hong Kong. The study demonstrates the importance of collecting surveillance data from both private and public sectors.</p

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT