Image-Processing Techniques for the Creation of Presentation-Quality Astronomical Images

The quality of modern astronomical data, the power of modern computers and the agility of current image-processing software enable the creation of high-quality images in a purely digital form. The combination of these technological advancements has created a new ability to make color astronomical images. And in many ways it has led to a new philosophy towards how to create them. A practical guide is presented on how to generate astronomical images from research data with powerful image-processing programs. These programs use a layering metaphor that allows for an unlimited number of astronomical datasets to be combined in any desired color scheme, creating an immense parameter space to be explored using an iterative approach. Several examples of image creation are presented. A philosophy is also presented on how to use color and composition to create images that simultaneously highlight scientific detail and are aesthetically appealing. This philosophy is necessary because most datasets do not correspond to the wavelength range of sensitivity of the human eye. The use of visual grammar, defined as the elements which affect the interpretation of an image, can maximize the richness and detail in an image while maintaining scientific accuracy. By properly using visual grammar, one can imply qualities that a two-dimensional image intrinsically cannot show, such as depth, motion and energy. In addition, composition can be used to engage viewers and keep them interested for a longer period of time. The use of these techniques can result in a striking image that will effectively convey the science within the image, to scientists and to the public.Comment: 104 pages, 38 figures, submitted to A

Understanding visual map formation through vortex dynamics of spin Hamiltonian models

The pattern formation in orientation and ocular dominance columns is one of the most investigated problems in the brain. From a known cortical structure, we build spin-like Hamiltonian models with long-range interactions of the Mexican hat type. These Hamiltonian models allow a coherent interpretation of the diverse phenomena in the visual map formation with the help of relaxation dynamics of spin systems. In particular, we explain various phenomena of self-organization in orientation and ocular dominance map formation including the pinwheel annihilation and its dependency on the columnar wave vector and boundary conditions.Comment: 4 pages, 15 figure

The Hubble Space Telescope Treasury Program on the Orion Nebula Cluster

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Treasury Program on the Orion Nebula Cluster has used 104 orbits of HST time to image the Great Orion Nebula region with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi Object Spectrograph (NICMOS) instruments in 11 filters ranging from the U-band to the H-band equivalent of HST. The program has been intended to perform the definitive study of the stellar component of the ONC at visible wavelengths, addressing key questions like the cluster IMF, age spread, mass accretion, binarity and cirumstellar disk evolution. The scanning pattern allowed to cover a contiguous field of approximately 600 square arcminutes with both ACS and WFPC2, with a typical exposure time of approximately 11 minutes per ACS filter, corresponding to a point source depth AB(F435W) = 25.8 and AB(F775W)=25.2 with 0.2 magnitudes of photometric error. We describe the observations, data reduction and data products, including images, source catalogs and tools for quick look preview. In particular, we provide ACS photometry for 3399 stars, most of them detected at multiple epochs, WFPC2 photometry for 1643 stars, 1021 of them detected in the U-band, and NICMOS JH photometry for 2116 stars. We summarize the early science results that have been presented in a number of papers. The final set of images and the photometric catalogs are publicly available through the archive as High Level Science Products at the STScI Multimission Archive hosted by the Space Telescope Science Institute.Comment: Accepted for publication on the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, March 27, 201

Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines during Immune Stimulation: Modulation of Iron Status and Red Blood Cell Profile

Forty-eight patients were subdivided according to C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, resulting in 19 patients with normal (2.8 ± 2.8 mg/L) and 29 with elevated (82.2 ± 76.2 mg/L) CRP levels. The elevated CRP group had iron and red blood cell (RBC) profiles characteristic of chronic immune stimulation (CIS), and the normal CRP group, profiles of true iron deficiency. Normal relationships between storage iron, bioavailable iron, and RBC indices were absent in the elevated CRP group—implying the role of iron as major determinant of the RBC profile to be diminished during CIS. The elevated CRP group had significant increases in proinflammatory cytokines (INF-γ, TNF-α, Il-1β, Il-6, and Il-8). Anti-inflammatory cytokine levels were normal, except for Il-10, supporting previous indications that Il-10 contributes to reducing bioavailable iron. Regression analysis suggested decreases in transferrin to be related to increases in Il-8 and an increase in ferritin to be related to a decrease in Il-12 levels. TGF-β levels were positively related to transferrin and negatively to ferritin

Data report: X-ray fluorescence core scanning of IODP Site U1474 sediments, Natal Valley, southwest Indian Ocean, Expedition 361

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning was conducted on core sections from International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1474, located in the Natal Valley off the coast of South Africa. The data were collected at 2 mm resolution along the 255 m length of the splice, but this setting resulted in noisy data. This problem was addressed by applying a 10 point running sum on the XRF data prior to converting peak area to element intensities. This effectively integrates 10 measurements into 1, representing an average over 2 cm resolution, and significantly improves noise in the data. With 25 calibration samples, whose element concentrations were derived using inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry, the XRF measurements were converted to concentrations using a univariate log-ratio calibration method. The resulting concentrations of terrigenously derived major elements (Al, Si, K, Ti, and Fe) are anticorrelated with Ca concentrations, indicating the main control on sediment chemistry is the variable proportion of terrigenous to in situ produced carbonate material

Piecing Together the American Voting Puzzle: How Votersâ Personalities and Judgments of Issue Importance Mattered in the 2016 Presidential Election

In the wake of the 2016 election, which surprised pundits and voters on both the left and the right, there has been renewed interest in understanding what predicts American votersâ choices. In this article, we investigate the roles of personality and issue importance in how people voted in the 2016 U.S. election. In this longitudinal study of 403 MTurk workers who voted in the election, we assessed the relations between personality (openness, social dominance orientation, and national identity importance) and issue importance (group rights and social justice, economic rights, and individual and national rights), and voting for Clinton or Trump. Our results indicate that both individual differences and issue importance as measured in July 2016 predicted votes in November. We also found that the links between personality and voting were mediated by issue importance. Implications for political psychology and the study of personality, campaign issues, and voting behavior are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146841/1/asap12157.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146841/2/asap12157_am.pd