Discovery of a Giant Lyα Emitter Near the Reionization Epoch

‘In these times, during the rise in the popularity of institutional repositories, the Society does not forbid authors from depositing their work in such repositories. However, the AAS regards the deposit of scholarly work in such repositories to be a decision of the individual scholar, as long as the individual's actions respect the diligence of the journals and their reviewers.’ Original article can be found at : http://iopscience.iop.org/ Copyright American Astronomical SocietyWe report the discovery of a giant Lyα emitter (LAE) with a Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) counterpart near the reionization epoch at z = 6.595. The giant LAE is found from the extensive 1 deg2 Subaru narrowband survey for z = 6.6 LAEs in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS) field, and subsequently identified by deep spectroscopy of Keck/DEIMOS and Magellan/IMACS. Among our 207 LAE candidates, this LAE is not only the brightest narrowband object with L(Lyα) = 3.9 ± 0.2 × 1043 erg s–1 in our survey volume of 106 Mpc3, but also a spatially extended Lyα nebula with the largest isophotal area whose major axis is at least 3''. This object is more likely to be a large Lyα nebula with a size of 17 kpc than to be a strongly lensed galaxy by a foreground object. Our Keck spectrum with medium-high spectral and spatial resolutions suggests that the velocity width is v FWHM = 251 ± 21 km s–1, and that the line-center velocity changes by 60 km s–1 in a 10 kpc range. The stellar mass and star formation rate are estimated to be 0.9-5.0 × 1010 M and >34 M yr–1, respectively, from the combination of deep optical to infrared images of Subaru, UKIDSS-Ultra Deep Survey, and Spitzer/IRAC. Although the nature of this object is not yet clearly understood, this could be an important object for studying cooling clouds accreting onto a massive halo, or forming-massive galaxies with significant outflows contributing to cosmic reionization and metal enrichment of intergalactic medium.Peer reviewe

The MACC-II 2007–2008 reanalysis: atmospheric dust evaluation and characterization over northern Africa and the Middle East

In the present work, atmospheric mineral dust from a MACC-II short reanalysis run for 2 years (2007–2008) has been evaluated over northern Africa and the Middle East using satellite aerosol products (from MISR, MODIS and OMI satellite sensors), ground-based AERONET data, in situ PM10 concentrations from AMMA, and extinction vertical profiles from two ground-based lidars and CALIOP satellite-based lidar. The MACC-II aerosol optical depth (AOD) spatial and temporal (seasonal and interannual) variability shows good agreement with those provided by satellite sensors. The capability of the model to reproduce the AOD, Ångström exponent (AE) and dust optical depth (DOD) from daily to seasonal time-scale is quantified over 26 AERONET stations located in eight geographically distinct regions by using statistical parameters. Overall DOD seasonal variation is fairly well simulated by MACC-II in all regions, although the correlation is significantly higher in dust transport regions than in dust source regions. The ability of MACC-II in reproducing dust vertical profiles has been assessed by comparing seasonal averaged extinction vertical profiles simulated by MACC-II under dust conditions with corresponding extinction profiles obtained with lidar instruments at M'Bour and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and with CALIOP.This work has been supported by EU-project Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC-II) under the European Union Seventh Framework Programme, grant agreement number 283576. J. M. Baldasano and S. Basart acknowledge the Severo Ochoa (SEV-2011-00067) program of the Spanish Government and the mobility program from the Catalan Government (BE-DGR 2012)

Development of a Quantitative Bead Capture Assay for Soluble IL-7 Receptor Alpha in Human Plasma

IL-7 is an essential cytokine in T-cell development and homeostasis. It binds to the IL-7R receptor, a complex of the IL-7Rα (CD127) and common γ (CD132) chains. There is significant interest in evaluating the expression of CD127 on human T-cells as it often decreased in medical conditions leading to lymphopenia. Previous reports showed the usefulness of CD127 as a prognostic marker in viral infections such as HIV, CMV, EBV and HCV. A soluble CD127 (sCD127) is released in plasma and may contribute to disease pathogenesis through its control on IL-7 activities. Measuring sCD127 is important to define its role and may complement existing markers used in lymphopenic disease management. We describe a new quantitative assay for the measurement of sCD127 in plasma and report sCD127 concentrations in healthy adults.We developed a quantitative bead-based sCD127 capture assay. Polyclonal CD127-specific antibodies were chosen for capture and a biotinylated monoclonal anti-CD127 antibody was selected for detection. The assay can detect native sCD127 and recombinant sCD127 which served as the calibrator. The analytical performance of the assay was characterized and the concentration and stability of plasma sCD127 in healthy adults was determined. The assay's range was 3.2–1000 ng/mL. The concentration of plasma sCD127 was 164±104 ng/mL with over a log variation between subjects. Individual sCD127 concentrations remained stable when measured serially during a period of up to one year.This is the first report on the quantification of plasma sCD127 in a population of healthy adults. Soluble CD127 plasma concentrations remained stable over time in a given individual and sCD127 immunoreactivity was resistant to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. This quantitative sCD127 assay is a valuable tool for defining the potential role of sCD127 in lymphopenic diseases

Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in NF1: Evidence for a More Severe Phenotype Associated with Missense Mutations Affecting NF1 Codons 844–848

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a common genetic disorder with a birth incidence of 1:2,000–3,000, is characterized by a highly variable clinical presentation. To date, only two clinically relevant intragenic genotype-phenotype correlations have been reported for NF1 missense mutations affecting p.Arg1809 and a single amino acid deletion p.Met922del. Both variants predispose to a distinct mild NF1 phenotype with neither externally visible cutaneous/plexiform neurofibromas nor other tumors. Here, we report 162 individuals (129 unrelated probands and 33 affected relatives) heterozygous for a constitutional missense mutation affecting one of five neighboring NF1 codons—Leu844, Cys845, Ala846, Leu847, and Gly848—located in the cysteine-serine-rich domain (CSRD). Collectively, these recurrent missense mutations affect ∼0.8% of unrelated NF1 mutation-positive probands in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) cohort. Major superficial plexiform neurofibromas and symptomatic spinal neurofibromas were more prevalent in these individuals compared with classic NF1-affected cohorts (both p < 0.0001). Nearly half of the individuals had symptomatic or asymptomatic optic pathway gliomas and/or skeletal abnormalities. Additionally, variants in this region seem to confer a high predisposition to develop malignancies compared with the general NF1-affected population (p = 0.0061). Our results demonstrate that these NF1 missense mutations, although located outside the GAP-related domain, may be an important risk factor for a severe presentation. A genotype-phenotype correlation at the NF1 region 844–848 exists and will be valuable in the management and genetic counseling of a significant number of individuals

The MACC-II 2007–2008 reanalysis: atmospheric dust evaluation and characterization over northern Africa and the Middle East [Discussion paper]

In the present work, atmospheric mineral dust from a MACC-II short reanalysis run for 2 years (2007–2008) has been evaluated over northern Africa and the Middle East using satellite aerosol products (from MISR, MODIS and OMI satellite sensors), ground-based AERONET data, in situ PM10 concentrations from AMMA, and extinction vertical profiles from two ground-based lidars and CALIOP satellite-based lidar. The MACC-II aerosol optical depth (AOD) spatial and temporal (seasonal and interannual) variability shows good agreement with those provided by satellite sensors. The capability of the model to reproduce the AOD, Ångström exponent (AE) and dust optical depth (DOD) from daily to seasonal time-scale is quantified over 26 AERONET stations located in eight geographically distinct regions by using statistical parameters. Overall DOD seasonal variation is fairly well simulated by MACC-II in all regions, although the correlation is significantly higher in dust transport regions than in dust source regions. The ability of MACC-II in reproducing dust vertical profiles has been assessed by comparing seasonal averaged extinction vertical profiles simulated by MACC-II under dust conditions with corresponding extinction profiles obtained with lidar instruments at M'Bour and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and with CALIOP.This work has been supported by EU-project Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC-II) under the European Union Seventh Framework Programme, grant agreement number 283576. J. M. Baldasano and S. Basart acknowledge the Severo Ochoa (SEV-2011-00067) program of the Spanish Government and the mobility program from the Catalan Government (BE-DGR 2012)

The Herschel Multi-Tiered Extragalactic Survey: source extraction and cross-identifications in confusion-dominated SPIRE images

We present the cross-identification and source photometry techniques used to process Herschel SPIRE imaging taken as part of the Herschel Multi-Tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES). Cross-identifications are performed in map-space so as to minimize source-blending effects. We make use of a combination of linear inversion and model selection techniques to produce reliable cross-identification catalogues based on Spitzer MIPS 24-μm source positions. Testing on simulations and real Herschel observations shows that this approach gives robust results for even the faintest sources (S250∼ 10 mJy). We apply our new technique to HerMES SPIRE observations taken as part of the science demonstration phase of Herschel. For our real SPIRE observations, we show that, for bright unconfused sources, our flux density estimates are in good agreement with those produced via more traditional point source detection methods (SUSSEXtractor) by Smith et al. When compared to the measured number density of sources in the SPIRE bands, we show that our method allows the recovery of a larger fraction of faint sources than these traditional methods. However, this completeness is heavily dependent on the relative depth of the existing 24-μm catalogues and SPIRE imaging. Using our deepest multiwavelength data set in the GOODS-N, we estimate that the use of shallow 24-μm catalogues in our other fields introduces an incompleteness at faint levels of between 20–40 per cent at 250 μm.Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

Spitzer observations of the SCUBA/VLA sources in the Lockman Hole: Star formation history of infrared-luminous galaxies

We present Spitzer Space Telescope imaging observations at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8.0, and 24 mum of the SCUBA submillimeter sources and muJy VLA radio sources in a 5' x 5' area in the Lockman Hole East region. Out of the similar to 40 SCUBA/VLA sources in the field, Spitzer counterparts were detected for nearly all except for the few low-weight SCUBA detections. We show that the majority (80% - 90%) of the detected sources are cold (i.e., starburst-like) infrared-luminous galaxies (L-IR > 10(11) L-.) at redshift 0.5 < z < 3.5, whose star-formation rate density (SFRD) is comparable to that of the optically selected star-forming galaxies

Submillimeter detections of Spitzer Space Telescope galaxy populations

We present submillimeter statistical detections of galaxies discovered in the 5' x 5' Spitzer Early Release Observations (to similar to4 - 15 muJy 5 sigma at 3.6 - 8 mum, 170 muJy at 24 mum) through a stacking analysis of our reanalyzed SCUBA 8 mJy survey maps and a Spitzer identification of a new submillimeter point source in the 8 mJy survey region. For sources detected at 5.8 or 8 mum ( 154 and 111 sources, respectively), we detect positive skews in the submillimeter flux distributions at 99.2% - 99.8% confidence using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, at both 850 and 450 mum. We also marginally detect the Spitzer 24 mum galaxies at 850 mum at 97% confidence and place limits on the mean submillimeter fluxes of the 3.6 and 4.5 mum sources. Integrating the submillimeter fluxes of the Spitzer populations, we find the 5.8 mum galaxies contribute 0.12 +/- 0.05 nW m(-2) sr(-1) to the 850 mum background and 2.4 +/- 0.7 nWm(-2) sr(-1) to the 450 mum background; similar contributions are made by the 8 mum-selected sample. We infer that the populations dominating the 5.8 and 8 mum extragalactic background light also contribute around a quarter of the 850 mum background and the majority of the 450 mum background

A pilot study for the SCUBA-2 'All-Sky' survey

The definitive version can be found at : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ Copyright Royal Astronomical SocietyWe have carried out a pilot study for the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2 (SCUBA-2) 'All-Sky' Survey (SASSy), a wide and shallow mapping project at 850 mu m, designed to find rare objects, both Galactic and extragalactic. Two distinct sets of exploratory observations were undertaken and used to test the SASSy approach and data-reduction pipeline. The first was a 0 degrees.5 x 0 degrees.5 map around the nearby galaxy NGC 2559. The galaxy was easily detected at 156 mJy, but no other convincing sources are present in the map. Comparison with other galaxies with similar wavelength coverage indicates that NGC 2559 has relatively warm dust. The second observations cover 1 deg(2) around the W5-E H II region. As well as diffuse structure in the map, a filtering approach was able to extract 27 compact sources with signal-to-noise ratio greater than 6. By matching with data at other wavelengths we can see that the SCUBA-2 data can be used to discriminate the colder cores. Together these observations show that the SASSy project will be able to meet its original goals of detecting new bright sources which will be ideal for follow-up observations with other facilities.Peer reviewe