622 research outputs found
Preheating by Previrialization and its Impact on Galaxy Formation
We use recent observations of the HI-mass function to constrain galaxy
formation. The data conflicts with the standard model where most of the gas in
a low-mass dark matter halo is assumed to settle into a disk of cold gas that
is depleted by star formation and supernova-driven outflows until the disk
becomes gravitationally stable. A consistent model can be found if low-mass
haloes are embedded in a preheated medium, with a specific gas entropy ~ 10Kev
cm^2. Such a model simultaneously matches the faint-end slope of the galaxy
luminosity function. We propose a preheating model where the medium around
low-mass haloes is preheated by gravitational pancaking. Since gravitational
tidal fields suppress the formation of low-mass haloes while promoting that of
pancakes, the formation of massive pancakes precedes that of the low-mass
haloes within them. We demonstrate that the progenitors of present-day dark
matter haloes with M<10^{12}h^{-1}\msun were embedded in pancakes of masses
~5x10^{12}h^{-1}\msun at z~2. The formation of such pancakes heats the gas to
a temperature of 5x10^5K and compresses it to an overdensity of ~10. Such gas
has a cooling time that exceeds the age of the Universe at z~2, and has a
specific entropy of ~15Kev cm^2, almost exactly the amount required to explain
the stellar and HI mass functions. (Abridged)Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Reconciling the local galaxy population with damped Ly-alpha cross sections and metal abundances
A comprehensive analysis of 355 high-quality WSRT HI 21-cm line maps of
nearby galaxies shows that the properties and incident rate of Damped
Lyman-alpha (DLA) absorption systems observed in the spectra of high redshift
QSOs are in good agreement with DLAs originating in gas disks of galaxies like
those in the z~0 population. Comparison of low-z DLA statistics with the HI
incidence rate and column density distribution f(N) for the local galaxy sample
shows no evidence for evolution in the integral "cross section density" below
z~1.5, implying that there is no need for a hidden population of galaxies or HI
clouds to contribute significantly to the DLA cross section. Compared with z~4,
our data indicates evolution of a factor of two in the comoving density along a
line of sight. We find that dN/dz(z=0)=0.045 +/- 0.006. The idea that the local
galaxy population can explain the DLAs is further strengthened by comparing the
properties of DLAs and DLA galaxies with the expectations based on our analysis
of local galaxies. The distribution of luminosities of DLA host galaxies, and
of impact parameters between QSOs and the centres of DLA galaxies, are in good
agreement with what is expected from local galaxies. Approximately 87% of low z
DLA galaxies are expected to be fainter than L* and 37 per cent have impact
parameters less than 1'' at z=0.5. The analysis shows that some host galaxies
with very low impact parameters and low luminosities are expected to be missed
in optical follow up surveys. The well-known metallicity-luminosity relation in
galaxies, in combination with metallicity gradients in galaxy disks, cause the
expected median metallicity of low redshift DLAs to be low (~1/7 solar), which
is also in good agreement with observations of low z DLAs. (Abridged)Comment: 22 pages, 22 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Fixed typo
Characterization of Mucosal Dysbiosis of Early Colonic Neoplasia.
Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) are the earliest morphologically identifiable lesions in the colon that can be detected by high-definition chromoendoscopy with contrast dye spray. Although frequently associated with synchronous adenomas, their role in colorectal tumor development, particularly in the proximal colon, is still not clear. The goal of this study was to evaluate the profile of colon-adherent bacteria associated with proximal ACF and to investigate their relationship to the presence and subtype of synchronous polyps present throughout the colon. Forty-five subjects undergoing a screening or surveillance colonoscopy were included in this retrospective study. Bacterial cells adherent to the epithelia of ACF and normal mucosal biopsies were visualized by in situ hybridization within confocal tissue sections. ACF showed significantly greater heterogeneity in their bacterial microbiome profiles compared with normal mucosa. One of the bacterial community structures we characterized was strongly correlated with the presence of synchronous polyps. Finally, using DNA mass spectrometry to evaluate a panel of colorectal cancer hotspot mutations present in the ACF, we found that thre
GMRT mini-survey to search for 21-cm absorption in Quasar-Galaxy Pairs at z~0.1
We present the results from our 21-cm absorption survey of a sample of 5
quasar-galaxy pairs (QGPs), with the redshift of the galaxies in the range
0.03<zg<0.18, selected from the SDSS. The HI 21-cm absorption was searched
towards the 9 sight lines with impact parameters ranging from 10 to 55 kpc
using GMRT. 21-cm absorption was detected only in one case i.e. towards the
Quasar (zq=2.625 SDSS J124157.54+633241.6)-galaxy (zg=0.143 SDSS
J124157.26+633237.6) pair with the impact parameter 11 kpc. The quasar sight
line in this case pierces through the stellar disk of a galaxy having near
solar metallicity (i.e (O/H)+12=8.7) and star formation rate uncorrected for
dust attenuation of 0.1 M_odot/yr. The quasar spectrum reddened by the
foreground galaxy is well fitted with the Milky Way extinction curve (with an
Av of 0.44) and the estimated HI column density is similar to the value
obtained from 21-cm absorption assuming spin temperature of 100K. Combining our
sample with the z<0.1 data available in the literature, we find the
detectability of 21-cm absorption with integrated optical depth greater than
0.1 km\s to be 50% for the impact parameter less than 20 kpc. Using the surface
brightness profiles and relationship between the optical size and extent of the
HI disk known for nearby galaxies, we conclude that in most of the cases of
21-cm absorption non-detection, the sight lines may not be passing through the
HI gas. We also find that in comparison to the absorption systems associated
with these QGPs, z<1 DLAs with 21-cm absorption detections have lower CaII
equivalent widths despite having higher 21-cm optical depths and smaller impact
parameters. This suggests that the current sample of DLAs may be a biased
population that avoids sight lines through dusty star-forming galaxies. A
systematic survey of QGPs is needed to confirm these findings and understand
the nature of 21-cm absorbers.Comment: 17 pages, 5 tables, 19 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS
(abstract abridged
Properties of Galaxies in and around Voids
Two surveys for intrinsically faint galaxies towards nearby voids have been
conducted at the MPI f\"ur Astronomie, Heidelberg. One selected targets from a
new diameter limited () catalog with morphological criteria while
the other used digitized objective prism Schmidt plates to select mainly HII
dwarf galaxies. For some 450 galaxies, redshifts and other optical data were
obtained. We studied the spatial distribution of the sample objects, their
luminosity function, and their intrinsic properties. Most of the galaxies
belong to already well known sheets and filaments. But we found about a dozen
highly isolated galaxies in each sample (nearest neighborhood distance ). These tend to populate additional structures and are not
distributed homogeneously throughout the voids. As our results on 'void
galaxies' still suffer from small sample statistics, I also tried to combine
similar existing surveys of nearby voids to get further hints on the larger
structure and on the luminosity function of the isolated galaxies. No
differences in the luminosity function of sheet and void galaxies could be
found. The optical and infrared properties of both samples are in the normal
range for samples dominated by late-type dwarfs. Follow-up HI studies show that
the isolated dwarfs in both samples have unusual high amount of neutral gas for
a given luminosity.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, latex, to appear in the proceedings of the
'Ringberg workshop on Large Scale Structure', hold Sep. 23-28, 199
Nailfold Videocapillaroscopic Features and Other Clinical Risk Factors for Digital Ulcers in Systemic Sclerosis: A Multicenter, Prospective Cohort Study
OBJECTIVE: To identify nailfold videocapillaroscopic and other clinical risk factors for new digital ulcers (DUs) in a 6-month period in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), the videoCAPillaroscopy (CAP) study.
METHODS: Overall 623 patients with SSc from 59 centers (14 countries) were stratified into two groups: "DU History" and "No-DU History". At enrollment, patients underwent detailed nailfold videocapillaroscopic evaluation and an assessment of demographics, DU status, and clinical and SSc characteristics. Risk factors for developing new DUs were assessed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses.
RESULTS: Of the "DU History" group (n = 468), 79.5% were female, the mean age was 54.0 ± 13.7 years, 59.8% had limited cutaneous SSc, and 22% developed a new DU during follow-up. The strongest risk factors for new DUs identified by multivariable logistic regression (MLR) in the "DU History" group included: mean number of capillaries/mm in the middle finger of the dominant hand, number of DUs (0, 1, 2, ≥3), and presence of critical digital ischemia. The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (ROC-AUC) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of the final MLR model was 0.738 (0.681-0.795). Internal validation through bootstrap generated a ROC-AUC (95% CI) of 0.633 (0.510-0.756).
CONCLUSION: This international, prospective study including detailed nailfold videocapillaroscopic evaluation and extensive clinical characterization of patients with SSc identified the mean number of capillaries/mm in the middle finger of the dominant hand, number of DUs and presence of critical digital ischemia at enrollment as risk factors for the development of new DUs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Galaxies in a Simulated CDM Universe II: Observable Properties and Constraints on Feedback
We compare the properties of galaxies that form in a cosmological simulation
without strong feedback to observations at z=0. We confirm previous findings
that models without strong feedback overproduce the observed galaxy baryonic
mass function, especially at the low and high mass extremes. Through
post-processing we investigate what kinds of feedback would be required to
reproduce observed galaxy masses and star formation rates. To mimic an extreme
form of "preventive" feedback (e.g., AGN radio mode) we remove all baryonic
mass that was originally accreted via "hot mode" from shock-heated gas. This
does not bring the high mass end of the galaxy mass function into agreement
with observations because much of the stellar mass in these systems formed at
high redshift from baryons that originally accreted via "cold mode" onto lower
mass progenitors. An efficient "ejective" feedback mechanism, such as supernova
driven winds, must reduce the masses of these progenitors. Feedback must also
reduce the masses of lower mass z=0 galaxies, which assemble at lower redshifts
and have much lower star formation rates. If we monotonically re-map galaxy
masses to reproduce the observed mass function, but retain the simulation's
predicted star formation rates, we obtain fairly good agreement with the
observed sequence of star-forming galaxies but fail to recover the observed
population of passive, low star formation rate galaxies. Suppressing all hot
mode accretion improves agreement for high mass galaxies but worsens the
agreement at intermediate masses. Reproducing these z=0 observations requires a
feedback mechanism that dramatically suppresses star formation in a fraction of
galaxies, increasing with mass, while leaving star formation rates of other
galaxies essentially unchanged.Comment: MNRAS in press. 15 pages, 5 figures, minimal changes from the first
versio
Clues to the nature of damped Lyman alpha systems from chemical evolution models
The evolution of the metallicity of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) is
investigated in order to understand the nature of these systems. The
observational data on chemical abundances of DLAs are analysed with robust
statistical methods, and the abundances are corrected for dust depletion. The
results of this analysis are compared to predictions of several classes of
chemical evolution models: one-zone dwarf galaxy models, multizone disk models,
and chemodynamical models representing dwarf galaxies. We compare the
observational data on the [alpha/Fe] and [N/alpha] ratios to the predictions
from the models. In DLAs, these ratios are only partially reproduced by the
dwarf galaxy one-zone model and by the disk model. On the other hand, the
chemodynamical model for dwarf galaxies reproduces the properties of nearly all
DLAs. We derive the formation epoch of dwarf galaxies, and we find that dwarf
galaxies make a significant contribution to the total neutral gas density in
DLAs, and that this contribution is more important at high redshifts (z > 2-3).
We propose a scenario in which the DLA population is dominated by dwarf
galaxies at high redshifts and by disks at lower redshifts. We also find that
Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) may constitute a sequence rather than present a
sharp dichotomy between the two populations. We also arise the possibility that
we could be missing a whole population of high HI density column objects, with
metallicities intermediate between those of DLAs and LBGs. Finally, we discuss
the possibility that relying only on the observations of DLAs could lead to an
underestimate of the metal content of the high redshift Universe.Comment: 23 pages, 19 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Power Doppler Imaging in Acute Renal Vein Occlusion and Recanalization: a Canine Model
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of the power Doppler (PD) in acute renal vein occlusion and recanalization in a canine model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a PD of the kidney during graded renal vein occlusion and recanalization induced by balloon inflation and deflation in nine dogs. The PD images were transferred to a personal computer, and the PD signals were quantified. RESULTS: We observed the temporal change of the PD signal during renal vein occlusion and recanalization, with a decrease in the PD signal during occlusion and an increase during recanalization. The mean PD signal decreased gradually as the renal vein was occluded, and conversely increased gradually with sequential relief of occlusion. The sequential change of the mean value of the PD signal was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The PD can detect a change in renal blood flow during acute renal vein occlusion and recanalization in a canine model. The PD may be used as a helpful tool for the early detection of acute renal vein thrombosis and the monitoring of renal perfusion
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