Magnification as a Tool in Weak Lensing

Weak lensing surveys exploit measurements of galaxy ellipticities. These measurements are subject to errors which degrade the cosmological information that can be extracted from the surveys. Here we propose a way of using the galaxy data themselves to calibrate the measurement errors. In particular, the cosmic shear field, which causes the galaxies to appear elliptical, also changes their sizes and fluxes. Information about the sizes and fluxes of the galaxies can be added to the shape information to obtain more robust information about the cosmic shear field. The net result will be tighter constraints on cosmological parameters such as those which describe dark energy.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

A Conditional Luminosity Function Model of the Cosmic Far-Infrared Background Anisotropy Power Spectrum

The cosmic far-infrared background (CFIRB) is expected to be generated by faint, dusty star-forming galaxies during the peak epoch of galaxy formation. The anisotropy power spectrum of the CFIRB captures the spatial distribution of these galaxies in dark matter halos and the spatial distribution of dark matter halos in the large-scale structure. Existing halo models of CFIRB anisotropy power spectrum are either incomplete or lead to halo model parameters that are inconsistent with the galaxy distribution selected at other wavelengths. Here we present a conditional luminosity function approach to describe the far-IR bright galaxies. We model the 250 um luminosity function and its evolution with redshift and model-fit the CFIRB power spectrum at 250 um measured by the Herschel Space Observatory. We introduce a redshift dependent duty-cycle parameter so that we are able to estimate the typical duration of the dusty star formation process in the dark matter halos as a function of redshifts. We find the duty cycle of galaxies contributing to the far-IR background is 0.3 to 0.5 with a dusty star-formation phase lasting for \sim0.3-1.6 Gyrs. This result confirms the general expectation that the far-IR background is dominated by star-forming galaxies in an extended phases, not bright starbursts that are driven by galaxy mergers and last \sim10-100 Myrs. The halo occupation number for satellite galaxies has a power-law slope that is close to unity over 0<z<4. We find that the minimum halo mass for dusty, star-forming galaxies with L_250>10^{10} L_Sun is 2\times10^{11}M_Sun and 3\times 10^{10}M_Sun at z=1 and 2, respectively. Integrating over the galaxy population with L_250>10^{9} L_Sun, we find that the cosmic density of dust residing in the dusty, star-forming galaxies responsible for the background anisotropies \Omega_{dust}\sim3\times10^{-6} to 2\times10^{-5}.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 10 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

Customer Referral Behavior: Do Switchers and Stayers Differ?

In today’s highly competitive market environment, service providers are beginning to recognize that customer referral plays an important role in enhancing firm value through cost-effective acquisition of new customers. While a significant body of research has focused on exploring customer referral, surprisingly limited research to date has addressed how customer referral may vary for different customer groups, particularly among switchers and stayers. This article examines the moderating effect of switchers and stayers on the relationships between service quality and perceived value on customer referral behavior. Actual referral data were collected from 441 customers of an Internet Service Provider in two waves for this study. The results show that the effects of positive changes in service quality and perceived value on customer referral behavior are stronger for recently acquired customers (switchers) than for long-term customers (stayers). The findings of the study suggest that investment in service quality and value improvements yield significantly higher returns (through greater customer referrals) for switchers than for stayers. Based on the findings, the authors recommend that service managers should identify and target newly acquired customers, who have switched from different service providers, right from the outset of the relationship with service offerings that signify higher quality and value in order to maximize customer referrals

Prolonged hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis syndrome as an initial presentation of Hodgkin lymphoma: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is an immune-mediated syndrome that typically has a rapidly progressive course that can result in pancytopenia, coagulopathy, multi-system organ failure and death.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 57-year-old Caucasian woman was referred in fulminant hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, with fever, pancytopenia, splenomegaly, mental status changes and respiratory failure. She was found to have stage IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma, in addition to Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus viremia. Her presentation was preceded by a 3-year prodrome consisting of cytopenia and fever that were partially controlled by steroids and azathioprine.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Fulminant hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis may follow a prodromal phase that possesses features suggestive of a chronic form of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, but which may also resemble immune cytopenias of other causes. A diagnosis of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis should be considered in the setting of chronic pancytopenia.</p

Repeated exposure reduces the response to impulsive noise in European seabass

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Human activities have changed the acoustic environment of many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems around the globe. Mounting evidence indicates that the resulting anthropogenic noise can impact the behaviour and physiology of at least some species in a range of taxa. However, the majority of experimental studies have considered only immediate responses to single, relatively short-term noise events. Repeated exposure to noise could lead to a heightened or lessened response. Here, we conduct two long-term (12 week), laboratory-based exposure experiments with European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) to examine how an initial impact of different sound types potentially changes over time. Naïve fish showed elevated ventilation rates, indicating heightened stress, in response to impulsive additional noise (playbacks of recordings of pile-driving and seismic surveys), but not to a more continuous additional noise source (playbacks of recordings of ship passes). However, fish exposed to playbacks of pile-driving or seismic noise for 12 weeks no longer responded with an elevated ventilation rate to the same noise type. Fish exposed long-term to playback of pile-driving noise also no longer responded to short-term playback of seismic noise. The lessened response after repeated exposure, likely driven by increased tolerance or a change in hearing threshold, helps explain why fish that experienced 12 weeks of impulsive noise showed no differences in stress, growth or mortality compared to those reared with exposure to ambient-noise playback. Considering how responses to anthropogenic noise change with repeated exposure is important both when assessing likely fitness consequences and the need for mitigation measures.Funding was provided by CGG; SDS held a NERC KE Fellowship (NE/J500616/2). The authors declare no conflict of interest

Morphology of the Faial Island shelf (Azores): the interplay between volcanic, erosional, depositional, tectonic and mass-wasting processes

[1] The extents of volcanic island shelves result from surf erosion, which enlarges them, and volcanic progradation, which reduces them. However, mass‐wasting, tectonics and sediment deposition also contribute to their morphology. In order to assess the relative significance of these various processes, we have mapped in detail Faial Island's shelf in the Azores archipelago based on interpretation of geophysical and geological data. The nearshore substrates of the island, down to 30–50 m depth, are rocky and covered by volcaniclastic boulder deposits formed by surf action on now‐submerged lava flows. Below those depths, sandy and gravel volcaniclastic beds dominate, building clinoforms up to the shelf edge. In some sectors of the coast, prograding lava has narrowed the shelf, but, in contrast to nearby Pico Island, we find fewer submarine‐emplaced lavas on the shelf. In this island, we interpret the distance between the coastline and the shelf edge as almost entirely a result of a straightforward competition between surf erosion and lava progradation, in which erosion dominates. Therefore shelf width can be used as a proxy for coastline age as well as for wave energy exposure. The stratigraphy of shelf deposits in boomer seismic data is examined in detail to assess the roles of different sediment sources, accommodation space and wave exposure in creating these deposits. We also show evidence of mass‐wasting at the shelf edge and discuss the possible origins of slope instability. Finally, we discuss the contributing role of tectonics for the development of the shelf.publishe

Innovative solutions to sticky situations: Antiadhesive strategies for treating bacterial infections

ABSTRACT Bacterial adherence to host tissue is an essential process in pathogenesis, necessary for invasion and colonization and often required for the efficient delivery of toxins and other bacterial effectors. As existing treatment options for common bacterial infections dwindle, we find ourselves rapidly approaching a tipping point in our confrontation with antibiotic-resistant strains and in desperate need of new treatment options. Bacterial strains defective in adherence are typically avirulent and unable to cause infection in animal models. The importance of this initial binding event in the pathogenic cascade highlights its potential as a novel therapeutic target. This article seeks to highlight a variety of strategies being employed to treat and prevent infection by targeting the mechanisms of bacterial adhesion. Advancements in this area include the development of novel antivirulence therapies using small molecules, vaccines, and peptides to target a variety of bacterial infections. These therapies target bacterial adhesion through a number of mechanisms, including inhibition of pathogen receptor biogenesis, competition-based strategies with receptor and adhesin analogs, and the inhibition of binding through neutralizing antibodies. While this article is not an exhaustive description of every advancement in the field, we hope it will highlight several promising examples of the therapeutic potential of antiadhesive strategies.</jats:p

A positive role for PEA3 in HER2-mediated breast tumour progression

Overexpression of HER2 is associated with an adverse prognosis in breast cancer. Despite this, the mechanism of its transcriptional regulation remains poorly understood. PEA3, a MAP kinase (MAPK)-activated member of the Ets transcription factor family has been implicated in the transcriptional regulation of HER2. The direction of its modulation remains controversial. We assessed relative levels of PEA3 expression and DNA binding in primary breast cultures derived from patient tumours (n=18) in the presence of an activated MAPK pathway using Western blotting and shift analysis. Expression of PEA3 in breast tumours from patients of known HER2 status (n=107) was examined by immunohistochemistry. In primary breast cancer cell cultures, growth factors induced interaction between PEA3 and its DNA response element. Upregulation of PEA3 expression in the presence of growth factors associated with HER2 positivity and axillary lymph node metastasis (P=0.034 and 0.049, respectively). PEA3 expression in breast cancer tissue associated with reduced disease-free survival (P<0.001), Grade III tumours (P<0.0001) and axillary lymph node metastasis (P=0.026). Co-expression of PEA3 and HER2 significantly associated with rate of recurrence compared to patients who expressed HER2 alone (P=0.0039). These data support a positive role for PEA3 in HER2-mediated oncogenesis in breast cancer

Insights into mantle composition and mantle melting beneath mid-ocean ridges from postspreading volcanism on the fossil Galapagos Rise

New major and trace element and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope data, together with 39Ar-40Ar ages for lavas from the extinct Galapagos Rise spreading center in the eastern Pacific reveal the evolution in magma compositions erupted during slowdown and after the end of active spreading at a mid-ocean ridge. Lavas erupted at 9.2 Ma, immediately prior to the end of spreading are incompatible element depleted mid-ocean ridge tholeiitic basalts, whereas progressively younger (7.5 to 5.7 Ma) postspreading lavas are increasingly alkalic, have higher concentrations of incompatible elements, higher La/Yb, K/Ti, 87Sr/86Sr, and lower 143Nd/144Nd ratios and were produced by smaller degrees of mantle melting. The large, correlated variations in trace element and isotope compositions can only be explained by melting of heterogenous mantle, in which incompatible trace element enriched lithologies preferentially contribute to smaller degree mantle melts. The effects of variable degrees of melting of heterogeneous mantle on lava compositions must be taken into account when using mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) to infer the conditions of melting beneath active spreading ridges. For example, the stronger “garnet signature” inferred from Sm/Nd and 143Nd/144Nd ratios for postspreading lavas from the Galapagos Rise results from a larger contribution from enriched lithologies with high La/Yb and Sm/Yb, rather than from a greater proportion of melting in the stability field of garnet peridotite. Correlations between ridge depth and Sm/Yb and fractionation-corrected Na concentrations in MORB worldwide could result from variations in mantle fertility and/or variations in the average degree of melting, rather than from large variations in mantle temperature. If more fertile mantle lithologies are preferentially melted beneath active spreading ridges, then the upper mantle may be significantly more “depleted” than is generally inferred from the compositions of MORB