446 research outputs found
The XMM-LSS survey: the Class 1 cluster sample over the extended 11 deg and its spatial distribution
This paper presents 52 X-ray bright galaxy clusters selected within the 11
deg XMM-LSS survey. 51 of them have spectroscopic redshifts
(), one is identified at , and all together make
the high-purity "Class 1" (C1) cluster sample of the XMM-LSS, the highest
density sample of X-ray selected clusters with a monitored selection function.
Their X-ray fluxes, averaged gas temperatures (median keV),
luminosities (median ergs/s) and total mass
estimates (median ) are measured, adapting to
the specific signal-to-noise regime of XMM-LSS observations. The redshift
distribution of clusters shows a deficit of sources when compared to the
cosmological expectations, regardless of whether WMAP-9 or Planck-2013 CMB
parameters are assumed. This lack of sources is particularly noticeable at . However, after quantifying uncertainties due to small
number statistics and sample variance we are not able to put firm (i.e. ) constraints on the presence of a large void in the cluster
distribution. We work out alternative hypotheses and demonstrate that a
negative redshift evolution in the normalization of the relation
(with respect to a self-similar evolution) is a plausible explanation for the
observed deficit. We confirm this evolutionary trend by directly studying how
C1 clusters populate the space, properly accounting for selection
biases. We point out that a systematically evolving, unresolved, central
component in clusters and groups (AGN contamination or cool core) can impact
the classification as extended sources and be partly responsible for the
observed redshift distribution.[abridged]Comment: 33 pages, 21 figures, 3 tables ; accepted for publication in MNRA
Luminosity Functions of XMM-LSS C1 Galaxy Clusters
CFHTLS optical photometry has been used to study the galaxy luminosity
functions of 14 X-ray selected clusters from the XMM-LSS survey. These are
mostly groups and poor clusters, with masses (M_{500}) in the range 0.6 to
19x10 ^{13} M_solar and redshifts 0.05-0.61. Hence these are some of the
highest redshift X-ray selected groups to have been studied. Lower and upper
colour cuts were used to determine cluster members. We derive individual
luminosity functions (LFs) for all clusters as well as redshift-stacked and
temperature-stacked LFs in three filters, g', r' and z', down to M=-14.5. All
LFs were fitted by Schechter functions which constrained the faint-end slope,
alpha, but did not always fit well to the bright end. Derived values of alpha
ranged from -1.03 to as steep as -2.1. We find no evidence for upturns at faint
magnitudes. Evolution in alpha was apparent in all bands: it becomes shallower
with increasing redshift; for example, in the z' band it flattened from -1.75
at low redshift to -1.22 in the redshift range z=0.43-0.61. Eight of our
systems lie at z~0.3, and we combine these to generate a galaxy LF in three
colours for X-ray selected groups and poor clusters at redshift 0.3. We find
that at z~0.3 alpha is steeper (-1.67) in the green (g') band than it is
(-1.30) in the red (z') band. This colour trend disappears at low redshift,
which we attribute to reddening of faint blue galaxies from z~0.3 to z~0. We
also calculated the total optical luminosity and found it to correlate strongly
with X-ray luminosity (L_X proportional to L_OPT^(2.1)), and also with ICM
temperature (L_OPT proportional to T^(1.62)), consistent with expectations for
self-similar clusters with constant mass-to-light ratio. We did not find any
convincing correlation of Schechter parameters with mean cluster temperature.Comment: 23 pages, 17 figure
The XXL Survey X: K-band luminosity - weak-lensing mass relation for groups and clusters of galaxies
We present the K-band luminosity-halo mass relation, ,
for a subsample of 20 of the 100 brightest clusters in the XXL Survey observed
with WIRCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). For the first time,
we have measured this relation via weak-lensing analysis down to . This allows us to investigate whether the slope
of the relation is different for groups and clusters, as seen in other
works. The clusters in our sample span a wide range in mass, , at . The K-band luminosity
scales as with and an
intrinsic scatter of . Combining our
sample with some clusters in the Local Cluster Substructure Survey (LoCuSS)
present in the literature, we obtain a slope of and an
intrinsic scatter of . The flattening in the seen
in previous works is not seen here and might be a result of a bias in the mass
measurement due to assumptions on the dynamical state of the systems. We also
study the richness-mass relation and find that group-sized halos have more
galaxies per unit halo mass than massive clusters. However, the brightest
cluster galaxy (BCG) in low-mass systems contributes a greater fraction to the
total cluster light than BCGs do in massive clusters; the luminosity gap
between the two brightest galaxies is more prominent for group-sized halos.
This result is a natural outcome of the hierarchical growth of structures,
where massive galaxies form and gain mass within low-mass groups and are
ultimately accreted into more massive clusters to become either part of the BCG
or one of the brighter galaxies. [Abridged]Comment: A&A, in pres
Cardiac protective effects of Moringa oleifera seeds in spontaneous hypertensive rats
BACKGROUND Hypertension is characterized by a maintained high blood pressure leading to cardiac complications such as left ventricular hypertrophy and fibrosis and an increased risk of heart failure and myocardial infarction. This study investigated the cardiac effects of oral administration of Moringa oleifera (MOI) seed powder in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR).
METHODS SHR received food containing MOI seed powder (750mg/d, 8 weeks) or normal food. In vivo measurement of hemodynamic parameters by telemetry and cardiac structure and function analysis by echocardiography were performed. Histological studies were performed to determine fibrosis and protein expression.
RESULTS MOI treatment did not modify blood pressure in SHR but reduced nocturnal heart rate and improved cardiac diastolic function (reduction of isovolumetric relaxation time and deceleration time of the E wave, increase of ejection volume and cardiac output compared to nontreated SHR). Left ventricular anterior wall thickness, interseptal thickness on diastole, and relative wall thickness were reduced after MOI treatment. Furthermore, we found a significant reduction of fibrosis in the left ventricle of MOI-treated SHR. This antihypertrophic and antifibrotic effect of MOI was associated with increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α and δ, reduced cardiac triglyceride level, and enhanced plasmatic prostacyclins.
CONCLUSIONS Our data show a beneficial effect of MOI on the cardiac structure and function in SHR associated with an upregulation of PPAR-α and δ signaling. This study thus provides scientific rational support for the empirical use of MOI in the traditional Malagasy medicine against cardiac diseases associated with blood pressure overload
Structural analysis of Ti1−xSixNy nanocomposite films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering
Nanocomposite thin films consisting of both nanosized solid solutions or nanosized polycrystalline materials embedded in various amorphous matrix materials thus provide a grate potential for future mechanical devices. In this paper we report on the preparation of films resulting from additions of Si to TiN matrix by r.f. reactive magnetron sputtering. Structural properties such as growing characteristics (type of matrix, texture and grain size) will be analysed in some detail. Conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), together with both symmetric and asymmetric mode X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments were used for this characterisation. The atomic composition of the samples was obtained by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS).
The analysis will be carried out as a function of the Si content in the Ti1-xSixNy matrix and several relations will be made regarding important parameters such as texture evolution, grain sizes, but most specially by the type of matrix developed. Regarding the results, all samples develop a double fcc phase with lattice parameters of 4.30 Å and 4.17 Å, corresponding to cubic TiN and most likely to a cubic lattice of SiNx, respectively.
Although no significant changes in texture were observed till Si compositions up to 10.6 at. %, the arrangement in atoms planes seem to vary. Results show that an asymmetric arrangement is developed in samples of small Si additions. This arrangement becomes more isotropic with the increase of Si contents, which we attribute to the increase in the SiNx content. In fact this increase leads also to the development of a small amorphous tissue of Si3N4 for large Si additions.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the ‘Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia’ (FCT) during the course of this research under project n PBICT/P/CTM/1962/95 and also the French CNRS Institution and the Portugese ICCTI Institution through CNRS/ICCTI Programs (N: 5522-1998 and 7087-1999)
AMPK alpha 1-induced RhoA phosphorylation mediates vasoprotective effect of estradiol
OBJECTIVE: Estradiol (E2) mediates numerous beneficial effects assigned to estrogens, but whereas mechanisms have been described at the endothelial level, direct effects on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) are poorly documented. As evidence accumulates regarding the role of RhoA in vascular pathophysiology and the benefit of RhoA-Rho associated protein kinase (Rock) pathway inhibition, we analyzed if E2 could inhibit it in VSMC. METHODS AND RESULTS: We show that in VSMC, E2 inhibits the RhoA-Rock pathway in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. The inhibition of RhoA-Rock pathway results from E2-induced phosphorylation of the Ser188 of RhoA. Using pharmacological, transfection, and in vitro phosphorylation experiments, we demonstrate that AMP-activated protein kinase subunit alpha 1 (AMPKalpha1) is activated by estrogen receptor stimulation and catalyzes RhoA phosphorylation induced by E2. Ex vivo, ovariectomy leads to an increase in the amplitude of phenylephrine- or serotonine-induced contractions of aortic rings in wild-type mice but not in AMPKalpha1-knock-out mice or E2-supplemented animals. These functional effects were correlated with a reduced level of RhoA phosphorylation in the aorta of ovariectomized female, male, and AMPKalpha1 knock-out mice. CONCLUSION: Our work thus defines AMPKalpha1 as (1) a new kinase for RhoA and (2) a new mediator of the vasoprotective effects of estrogen
The 2-10 keV unabsorbed luminosity function of AGN from the XMM-Newton LSS, CDFS and COSMOS surveys
The XMM-LSS, XMM-COSMOS, and XMM-CDFS surveys are complementary in terms of
sky coverage and depth. Together, they form a clean sample with the least
possible variance in instrument effective areas and PSF. Therefore this is one
of the best samples available to determine the 2-10 keV luminosity function of
AGN and its evolution. The samples and the relevant corrections for
incompleteness are described. A total of 2887 AGN is used to build the LF in
the luminosity interval 10^42-10^46 erg/s, and in the redshift interval
0.001-4. A new method to correct for absorption by considering the probability
distribution for the column density conditioned on the hardness ratio is
presented. The binned luminosity function and its evolution is determined with
a variant of the Page-Carrera method, improved to include corrections for
absorption and to account for the full probability distribution of photometric
redshifts. Parametric models, namely a double power-law with LADE or LDDE
evolution, are explored using Bayesian inference. We introduce the
Watanabe-Akaike information criterion (WAIC) to compare the models and estimate
their predictive power. Our data are best described by the LADE model, as
hinted by the WAIC indicator. We also explore the 15-parameter extended LDDE
model recently proposed by Ueda et al., and find that this extension is not
supported by our data. The strength of our method is that it provides:
un-absorbed non-parametric estimates; credible intervals for luminosity
function parameters; model choice according to which one has more predictive
power for future data.Comment: In press on A&A. The revised version corrects typos and the LF
normalisations in tables 1,2,5 and figs.9-12, which were on an incorrect
scale. Online material available at
http://www.astro.lu.se/~piero/xlf/xlf-paper-tables2.tgz . The software is
available on the author's website
http://www.astro.lu.se/~piero/LFTools/index.html and on github:
https://github.com/piero-ranalli/LFTool
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