66 research outputs found
Cosmic Ray Rejection and Readout Efficiency for Large-Area Arrays
We present an algorithm to optimally process uniformly sampled array image
data obtained with a nondestructive readout. The algorithm discards full wells,
removes cosmic ray (particle) hits and other glitches, and makes a nearly
optimum estimate of the signal on each pixel. The algorithm also compresses the
data. The computer requirements are modest, and the results are robust. The
results are shown and compared to results of Fowler sampled and processed data.
Non-ideal detector performance may require some additional code, but this is
not expected to cost much processing time. Known types of detector faults are
addressed.Comment: This paper has been accepted for publication in the PAS
Validation of Up-the-Ramp Sampling with Cosmic Ray Rejection on IR Detectors
We examine cosmic ray rejection methodology on data collected from InSb and
Si:As detectors. The application of an Up-the-Ramp sampling technique with
cosmic ray identification and mitigation is the focus of this study. This
technique is valuable for space-based observatories which are exposed to
high-radiation environments. We validate the Up-the-Ramp approach on
radiation-test data sets with InSb and Si:As detectors which were generated for
SIRTF. The Up-the-Ramp sampling method studied in this paper is over 99.9%
effective at removing cosmic rays and preserves the structure and photometric
quality of the image to well within the measurement error.Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in the PASP, 25
October 200
Galaxy Zoo 1 : Data Release of Morphological Classifications for nearly 900,000 galaxies
Morphology is a powerful indicator of a galaxy's dynamical and merger
history. It is strongly correlated with many physical parameters, including
mass, star formation history and the distribution of mass. The Galaxy Zoo
project collected simple morphological classifications of nearly 900,000
galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, contributed by hundreds of
thousands of volunteers. This large number of classifications allows us to
exclude classifier error, and measure the influence of subtle biases inherent
in morphological classification. This paper presents the data collected by the
project, alongside measures of classification accuracy and bias. The data are
now publicly available and full catalogues can be downloaded in electronic
format from http://data.galaxyzoo.org.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS, 14 pages. Updated to match final version; problem
with table 7 header fixed. Full tables available at http://data.galaxyzoo.or
Automated Morphological Classification of SDSS Red Sequence Galaxies
(abridged) In the last decade, the advent of enormous galaxy surveys has
motivated the development of automated morphological classification schemes to
deal with large data volumes. Existing automated schemes can successfully
distinguish between early and late type galaxies and identify merger
candidates, but are inadequate for studying detailed morphologies of red
sequence galaxies. To fill this need, we present a new automated classification
scheme that focuses on making finer distinctions between early types roughly
corresponding to Hubble types E, S0, and Sa. We visually classify a sample of
984 non-starforming SDSS galaxies with apparent sizes >14". We then develop an
automated method to closely reproduce the visual classifications, which both
provides a check on the visual results and makes it possible to extend
morphological analysis to much larger samples. We visually classify the
galaxies into three bulge classes (BC) by the shape of the light profile in the
outer regions: discs have sharp edges and bulges do not, while some galaxies
are intermediate. We separately identify galaxies with features: spiral arms,
bars, clumps, rings, and dust. We find general agreement between BC and the
bulge fraction B/T measured by the galaxy modeling package GIM2D, but many
visual discs have B/T>0.5. Three additional automated parameters -- smoothness,
axis ratio, and concentration -- can identify many of these high-B/T discs to
yield automated classifications that agree ~70% with the visual classifications
(>90% within one BC). Both methods are used to study the bulge vs. disc
frequency as a function of four measures of galaxy 'size': luminosity, stellar
mass, velocity dispersion, and radius. All size indicators show a fall in disc
fraction and a rise in bulge fraction among larger galaxies.Comment: 24 pages, 20 figures, MNRAS accepte
The Fifth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
This paper describes the Fifth Data Release (DR5) of the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey (SDSS). DR5 includes all survey quality data taken through June 2005 and
represents the completion of the SDSS-I project (whose successor, SDSS-II will
continue through mid-2008). It includes five-band photometric data for 217
million objects selected over 8000 square degrees, and 1,048,960 spectra of
galaxies, quasars, and stars selected from 5713 square degrees of that imaging
data. These numbers represent a roughly 20% increment over those of the Fourth
Data Release; all the data from previous data releases are included in the
present release. In addition to "standard" SDSS observations, DR5 includes
repeat scans of the southern equatorial stripe, imaging scans across M31 and
the core of the Perseus cluster of galaxies, and the first spectroscopic data
from SEGUE, a survey to explore the kinematics and chemical evolution of the
Galaxy. The catalog database incorporates several new features, including
photometric redshifts of galaxies, tables of matched objects in overlap regions
of the imaging survey, and tools that allow precise computations of survey
geometry for statistical investigations.Comment: ApJ Supp, in press, October 2007. This paper describes DR5. The SDSS
Sixth Data Release (DR6) is now public, available from http://www.sdss.or
GALEX-SDSS Catalogs for Statistical Studies
We present a detailed study of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer's photometric
catalogs with special focus on the statistical properties of the All-sky and
Medium Imaging Surveys. We introduce the concept of primaries to resolve the
issue of multiple detections and follow a geometric approach to define clean
catalogs with well-understood selection functions. We cross-identify the GALEX
sources (GR2+3) with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (DR6) observations, which
indirectly provides an invaluable insight about the astrometric model of the UV
sources and allows us to revise the band merging strategy. We derive the formal
description of the GALEX footprints as well as their intersections with the
SDSS coverage along with analytic calculations of their areal coverage. The
crossmatch catalogs are made available for the public. We conclude by
illustrating the implementation of typical selection criteria in SQL for
catalog subsets geared toward statistical analyses, e.g., correlation and
luminosity function studies.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figures, accepted to Ap
The Seventh Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
This paper describes the Seventh Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
(SDSS), marking the completion of the original goals of the SDSS and the end of
the phase known as SDSS-II. It includes 11663 deg^2 of imaging data, with most
of the roughly 2000 deg^2 increment over the previous data release lying in
regions of low Galactic latitude. The catalog contains five-band photometry for
357 million distinct objects. The survey also includes repeat photometry over
250 deg^2 along the Celestial Equator in the Southern Galactic Cap. A
coaddition of these data goes roughly two magnitudes fainter than the main
survey. The spectroscopy is now complete over a contiguous area of 7500 deg^2
in the Northern Galactic Cap, closing the gap that was present in previous data
releases. There are over 1.6 million spectra in total, including 930,000
galaxies, 120,000 quasars, and 460,000 stars. The data release includes
improved stellar photometry at low Galactic latitude. The astrometry has all
been recalibrated with the second version of the USNO CCD Astrograph Catalog
(UCAC-2), reducing the rms statistical errors at the bright end to 45
milli-arcseconds per coordinate. A systematic error in bright galaxy photometr
is less severe than previously reported for the majority of galaxies. Finally,
we describe a series of improvements to the spectroscopic reductions, including
better flat-fielding and improved wavelength calibration at the blue end,
better processing of objects with extremely strong narrow emission lines, and
an improved determination of stellar metallicities. (Abridged)Comment: 20 pages, 10 embedded figures. Accepted to ApJS after minor
correction
X-Ray-Emitting Stars Identified from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
The ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) was the first imaging X-ray survey of the
entire sky. While X-ray source counterparts are known to range from distant
quasars to nearby M dwarfs, the RASS data alone are often insufficient to
determine the nature of an X-ray source. As a result, large-scale follow-up
programs are required to construct samples of known X-ray emitters. We use
optical data produced by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to identify 709
stellar X-ray emitters cataloged in the RASS and falling within the SDSS Data
Release 1 footprint. Most of these are bright stars with coronal X-ray emission
unsuitable for SDSS spectroscopy, which is designed for fainter objects (g > 15
mag). Instead, we use SDSS photometry, correlations with the Two Micron All Sky
Survey and other catalogs, and spectroscopy from the Apache Point Observatory
3.5 m telescope to identify these stellar X-ray counterparts. Our sample of 707
X-ray-emitting F, G, K, and M stars is one of the largest X-ray-selected
samples of such stars. We derive distances to these stars using photometric
parallax relations appropriate for dwarfs on the main sequence, and use these
distances to calculate LX. We also identify a previously unknown cataclysmic
variable (CV) as a RASS counterpart. Separately, we use correlations of the
RASS and the SDSS spectroscopic catalogs of CVs and white dwarfs (WDs) to study
the properties of these rarer X-ray-emitting stars. We examine the relationship
between (fX/fg) and the equivalent width of the Hbeta emission line for 46
X-ray-emitting CVs and discuss tentative classifications for a subset based on
these quantities. We identify 17 new X-ray-emitting DA (hydrogen) WDs, of which
three are newly identified WDs. (abridged)Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures, 8 tables; full catalog available online onl
SLUG/SNAI2 and Tumor Necrosis Factor Generate Breast Cells With CD44+/CD24- Phenotype
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breast cancer cells with CD44+/CD24- cell surface marker expression profile are proposed as cancer stem cells (CSCs). Normal breast epithelial cells that are CD44+/CD24- express higher levels of stem/progenitor cell associated genes. We, amongst others, have shown that cancer cells that have undergone epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) display the CD44+/CD24- phenotype. However, whether all genes that induce EMT confer the CD44+/CD24- phenotype is unknown. We hypothesized that only a subset of genes associated with EMT generates CD44+/CD24- cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MCF-10A breast epithelial cells, a subpopulation of which spontaneously acquire the CD44+/CD24- phenotype, were used to identify genes that are differentially expressed in CD44+/CD24- and CD44-/CD24+ cells. Ingenuity pathway analysis was performed to identify signaling networks that linked differentially expressed genes. Two EMT-associated genes elevated in CD44+/CD24- cells, SLUG and Gli-2, were overexpressed in the CD44-/CD24+ subpopulation of MCF-10A cells and MCF-7 cells, which are CD44-/CD24+. Flow cytometry and mammosphere assays were used to assess cell surface markers and stem cell-like properties, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two thousand thirty five genes were differentially expressed (p < 0.001, fold change ≥ 2) between the CD44+/CD24- and CD44-/CD24+ subpopulations of MCF-10A. Thirty-two EMT-associated genes including SLUG, Gli-2, ZEB-1, and ZEB-2 were expressed at higher levels in CD44+/CD24- cells. These EMT-associated genes participate in signaling networks comprising TGFβ, NF-κB, and human chorionic gonadotropin. Treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which induces NF-κB and represses E-cadherin, or overexpression of SLUG in CD44-/CD24+ MCF-10A cells, gave rise to a subpopulation of CD44+/CD24- cells. Overexpression of constitutively active p65 subunit of NF-κB in MCF-10A resulted in a dramatic shift to the CD44+/CD24+ phenotype. SLUG overexpression in MCF-7 cells generated CD44+/CD24+ cells with enhanced mammosphere forming ability. In contrast, Gli-2 failed to alter CD44 and CD24 expression.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>EMT-mediated generation of CD44+/CD24- or CD44+/CD24+ cells depends on the genes that induce or are associated with EMT. Our studies reveal a role for TNF in altering the phenotype of breast CSC. Additionally, the CD44+/CD24+ phenotype, in the context of SLUG overexpression, can be associated with breast CSC "stemness" behavior based on mammosphere forming ability.</p
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