Using the Fundamental Plane to Estimate the Total Binding Mass in A2626

We use fundamental plane (FP) distance estimates to the components of the double cluster A2626 (cz~17,500 km/s) to constrain cluster kinematics and estimate total binding mass. The FP coefficients for a sample of 24 early type and S0 cluster members (alpha=1.30+/-0.36 and beta=0.31+/-0.06) are consistent with others reported in the literature. We examine the Mg_b distributions within both subclusters and find them to be indistinguishable. Lacking evidence for stellar population differences, we interpret the FP zeropoint offset (\log(D_B/D_A)=-0.037+/-0.046, where D_{cl} is distance to subcluster cl) as a measure of the distance difference. This measurement is consistent with the subclusters being at the same distance, and it rules out the Hubble flow hypothesis (distances proportional to velocity) with 99% confidence; analysis of the subcluster galaxy magnitude distributions rules out Hubble flow at 93% confidence. Both results favor a kinematic model where the subclusters are bound and infalling. We estimate the total cluster binding mass by modelling the subcluster merger as radial infall. The minimum possible total binding mass is 1.65 times higher than the sum of the standard virial masses, a difference statistically significant at the ~3sigma level. We discuss explanations for the inconsistency including (1) biases in the standard virial mass estimator, (2) biases in our radial infall mass estimate, and (3) mass beyond the virialized cluster region; if the standard virial mass is significantly in error, the cluster has an unusually high mass to light ratio (~1000h). Because observational signatures of departures from radial infall are absent, we explore the implications of mass beyond the virialized, core regions. (abridged)Comment: 14 pages and 5 figures, Latex, Accepted for publication in A

What is More Effective: Corticosteroid Injections or Platelet Rich Plasma Infections in the Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis?

ABSTRACT Lateral epicondylitis is a common degenerative tendinopathy that affects a wide variety of individuals. One patient population that often suffers more than others are workers with manual labor jobs that use vibrating tools and repetitive motions.1 Procedural costs and disease burden associated with lateral epicondylitis have increased in recent years.3 Current treatment of lateral epicondylitis using corticosteroid injections is beginning to fall out of favor. Corticosteroid injections help decrease inflammation; however, research looking into the histology of lateral epicondylitis favors more of a degenerative tendinopathy rather than an inflammatory condtion.1 In addition, several studies have found corticosteroid injections to be helpful in the acute phase of lateral epicondylitis but detrimental long-term with rates of relapse in pain and functional impairment.5 Platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections are proving to be an alternative type of injection to treat lateral epicondylitis. PRP contains growth factors and cytokines that help stimulate the healing process.7 Several promising studies have shown that PRP might be more helpful in long-term treatment of lateral epicondylitis. One systematic review found that corticosteroid injections proved to be beneficial for pain relief and function in the short-term (2-8 weeks); whereas PRP injections was shown to be beneficial for long term (8 weeks) pain relief and function.

A Morphology--Cosmology Connection for X--Ray Clusters

We employ N--body/$3D$ gas dynamic simulations of the formation of galaxy clusters to determine whether cluster X--ray morphologies can be used as cosmological constraints. Confirming the analytic expectations of Richstone, Loeb, \& Turner, we demonstrate that cluster evolution is sensitive to the cosmological model in which the clusters form. We further show that evolutionary differences are echoed in the gross morphological features of the cluster X--ray emission. We examine current--epoch X--ray images of models originating from the same initial density fields evolved in three different cosmologies: (i) an unbiased, low density universe with \Omega_o \se 0.2; (ii) an unbiased universe dominated by vacuum energy with \Omega_o \se 0.2 and \lambda_o \se 0.8 and (iii) a biased Einstein--deSitter model (\Omega \se 1, $\sigma_8=0.59$). Using measures of X--ray morphology such as the axial ratio and centroid shifting, we demonstrate that clusters evolved in the two low $\Omega_o$ models are much more regular, spherically symmetric, and centrally condensed than clusters evolved in the Einstein--deSitter model. This morphology--cosmology connection, along with the availability of a large body of cluster X--ray observations, makes cluster X--ray morphology both a powerful and a practical cosmological discriminant.Comment: (uuencoded, compressed postscript, 9 pages including figures), CFA-370

Detection and Removal of Artifacts in Astronomical Images

Astronomical images from optical photometric surveys are typically contaminated with transient artifacts such as cosmic rays, satellite trails and scattered light. We have developed and tested an algorithm that removes these artifacts using a deep, artifact free, static sky coadd image built up through the median combination of point spread function (PSF) homogenized, overlapping single epoch images. Transient artifacts are detected and masked in each single epoch image through comparison with an artifact free, PSF-matched simulated image that is constructed using the PSF-corrected, model fitting catalog from the artifact free coadd image together with the position variable PSF model of the single epoch image. This approach works well not only for cleaning single epoch images with worse seeing than the PSF homogenized coadd, but also the traditionally much more challenging problem of cleaning single epoch images with better seeing. In addition to masking transient artifacts, we have developed an interpolation approach that uses the local PSF and performs well in removing artifacts whose widths are smaller than the PSF full width at half maximum, including cosmic rays, the peaks of saturated stars and bleed trails. We have tested this algorithm on Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data and present performance metrics. More generally, our algorithm can be applied to any survey which images the same part of the sky multiple times.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Computin