Keck-I MOSFIRE spectroscopy of compact star-forming galaxies at z≳\gtrsim2: High velocity dispersions in progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies

We present Keck-I MOSFIRE near-infrared spectroscopy for a sample of 13 compact star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at redshift $2\leq z \leq2.5$ with star formation rates of SFR$\sim$100M$_{\odot}$ y$^{-1}$ and masses of log(M/M$_{\odot}$)$\sim10.8$. Their high integrated gas velocity dispersions of $\sigma_{\rm{int}}$=230$^{+40}_{-30}$ km s$^{-1}$, as measured from emission lines of H$_{\alpha}$ and [OIII], and the resultant M$_{\star}-\sigma_{\rm{int}}$ relation and M$_{\star}$$-$M$_{\rm{dyn}}$ all match well to those of compact quiescent galaxies at $z\sim2$, as measured from stellar absorption lines. Since log(M$_{\star}$/M$_{\rm{dyn}}$)$=-0.06\pm0.2$ dex, these compact SFGs appear to be dynamically relaxed and more evolved, i.e., more depleted in gas and dark matter ($<$13$^{+17}_{-13}$\%) than their non-compact SFG counterparts at the same epoch. Without infusion of external gas, depletion timescales are short, less than $\sim$300 Myr. This discovery adds another link to our new dynamical chain of evidence that compact SFGs at $z\gtrsim2$ are already losing gas to become the immediate progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies by $z\sim2$.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Ap

IART® (Intra-Operative Avidination for Radionuclide Therapy) for accelerated radiotherapy in breast cancer patients. Technical aspects and preliminary results of a phase II study with 90Y-labelled biotin

Background: Breast conserving surgery (BCS) plus external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is considered the standard treatment for early breast cancer. We have investigated the possibility of irradiating the residual gland, using an innovative nuclear medicine approach named IART® (Intra-operative Avidination for Radionuclide Therapy). Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the optimal dose of avidin with a fixed activity (3.7 GBq) of 90Y-biotin, in order to provide a boost of 20 Gy, followed by EBRT to the whole breast (WB) at the reduced dose of 40 Gy. Local and systemic toxicity, patient's quality of life, including the cosmetic results after the combined treatment with IART® and EBRT, were assessed. Methods: After tumour excision, the surgeon injected native avidin diluted in 30 ml of saline solution into and around the tumour bed (see video). Patients received one of three avidin dose levels: 50 mg (10 pts), 100 mg (15 pts) and 150 mg (10 pts). Between 12 to 24 h after surgery, 3.7 GBq 90Y-biotin spiked with 185 MBq 111In-biotin was administered intravenously (i.v.). Whole body scans and SPECT images were performed up to 30 h post-injection for dosimetric purposes. WB-EBRT was administered four weeks after the IART® boost. Local toxicity and quality of life were evaluated. Results: Thirty-five patients were evaluated. No side effects were observed after avidin administration and 90Y-biotin infusion. An avidin dose level of 100 mg resulted the most appropriate in order to deliver the required radiation dose (19.5 + 4.0 Gy) to the surgical bed. At the end of IART®, no local toxicity occurred and the overall cosmetic result was good. The tolerance to the reduced EBRT was also good. The highest grade of transient local toxicity was G3, which occurred in 3/32 pts following the completion of WB-EBRT. The combination of IART® +EBRT was well accepted by the patients, without any changes to their quality of life. Conclusions: These preliminary results support the hypothesis that IART® may represent a valid approach to accelerated WB irradiation after BCS. We hope that this nuclear medicine technique will contribute to a better management of breast cancer patients. © the authors; licensee ecancermedicalscience

Non-perturbative gauge/gravity correspondence in N=2 theories

We derive the exact supergravity profile for the twisted scalar field emitted by a system of fractional D3 branes at a Z2 orbifold singularity supporting N=2 quiver gauge theories with unitary groups and bifundamental matter. At the perturbative level this twisted field is "dual" to the gauge coupling but it is corrected non-perturbatively by an infinite tower of fractional D-instantons. The explicit microscopic description allows to derive the gravity profile from disk amplitudes computing the emission rate of the twisted scalar field in terms of chiral correlators in the dual gauge theory. We compute these quantum correlators using multi-instanton localization techniques and/or Seiberg-Witten analysis. Finally, we discuss a non-perturbative relation between the twisted scalar and the effective coupling of the gauge theory for some simple choices of the brane set ups.Comment: 42 pages. 3 figures, PDFLaTe

A single-photon transistor using nano-scale surface plasmons

It is well known that light quanta (photons) can interact with each other in nonlinear media, much like massive particles do, but in practice these interactions are usually very weak. Here we describe a novel approach to realize strong nonlinear interactions at the single-photon level. Our method makes use of recently demonstrated efficient coupling between individual optical emitters and tightly confined, propagating surface plasmon excitations on conducting nanowires. We show that this system can act as a nonlinear two-photon switch for incident photons propagating along the nanowire, which can be coherently controlled using quantum optical techniques. As a novel application, we discuss how the interaction can be tailored to create a single-photon transistor, where the presence or absence of a single incident photon in a ``gate'' field is sufficient to completely control the propagation of subsequent ``signal'' photons.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

Herschel-ATLAS: Multi-wavelength SEDs and physical properties of 250 micron-selected galaxies at z < 0.5

We present a pan-chromatic analysis of an unprecedented sample of 1402 250 micron-selected galaxies at z < 0.5 (mean z = 0.24) from the Herschel-ATLAS survey. We complement our Herschel 100-500 micron data with UV-K-band photometry from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey and apply the MAGPHYS energy-balance technique to produce pan-chromatic SEDs for a representative sample of 250 micron selected galaxies spanning the most recent 5 Gyr of cosmic history. We derive estimates of physical parameters, including star formation rates, stellar masses, dust masses and infrared luminosities. The typical H-ATLAS galaxy at z < 0.5 has a far-infrared luminosity in the range 10^10 - 10^12 Lsolar (SFR: 1-50 Msolar/yr) thus is broadly representative of normal star forming galaxies over this redshift range. We show that 250 micron-selected galaxies contain a larger mass of dust at a given infra-red luminosity or star formation rate than previous samples selected at 60 micron from IRAS. We derive typical SEDs for H-ATLAS galaxies, and show that the emergent SED shape is most sensitive to specific star formation rate. The optical-UV SEDs also become more reddened due to dust at higher redshifts. Our template SEDs are significantly cooler than existing infra-red templates. They may therefore be most appropriate for inferring total IR luminosities from moderate redshift submillimetre selected samples and for inclusion in models of the lower redshift submillimetre galaxy populations.Comment: 26 pages, 24 figures, Accepted by MNRA

Global correlates of range contractions and expansions in terrestrial mammals

Understanding changes in species distributions is essential to disentangle the mechanisms that drive their responses to anthropogenic habitat modification. Here we analyse the past (1970s) and current (2017) distribution of 204 species of terrestrial non-volant mammals to identify drivers of recent contraction and expansion in their range. We find 106 species lost part of their past range, and 40 of them declined by >50%. The key correlates of this contraction are large body mass, increase in air temperature, loss of natural land, and high human population density. At the same time, 44 species have some expansion in their range, which correlates with small body size, generalist diet, and high reproductive rates. Our findings clearly show that human activity and life history interact to influence range changes in mammals. While the former plays a major role in determining contraction in species’ distribution, the latter is important for both contraction and expansion

A survey of Italian and Spanish neonatologists and paediatricians regarding awareness of the diagnosis of FAS and FASD and maternal ethanol use during pregnancy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ethanol is the most widely used drug in the world and a human teratogen whose consumption among women of childbearing age has been steadily increasing. There are no Italian or Spanish statistics on ethanol consumption during pregnancy nor any information regarding prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). There is also a reasonable suspicion that these two diseases are underdiagnosed by professionals from the above-reported countries. The objectives of this study were: 1) to evaluate the experience, knowledge and confidence of Italian and Spanish neonatologists and paediatricians with respect to the diagnosis of FAS and FASD, and 2) to evaluate professionals awareness of maternal drinking patterns during pregnancy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A multiple-choice anonymous questionnaire was e-mailed to Italian neonatologists registered in the mailing list of the corresponding Society and administered to Italian and Spanish paediatricians during their National Congress.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The response rate was 16% (63/400) for the Italian neonatologists of the National Society while a total of 152 Spanish and 41 Italian paediatricians agreed to complete the questionnaire during National Congress. Over 90% of the surveyed physicians declared that FAS is an identifiable syndrome and over 60% of them identified at least one of the most important features of FAS. Although over 60% Italian responders and around 80% Spanish responders were aware that ethanol use in pregnancy is dangerous, approximately 50% Italian responders and 40% Spanish ones allowed women to drink sometimes a glass of wine or beer during pregnancy.</p> <p>Neonatologists and paediatricians rated confidence in the ability to diagnosis FAS and FASD as low, with over 50% responders feeling they needed more information regarding FAS and FASD identification in newborn and child.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Italian and Spanish neonatologists and paediatricians do not feel confident about diagnosing FAS and FASD. More training is needed in order to accurately diagnose ethanol use during pregnancy and correctly inform pregnant women on the consequences on the newborn.</p

THE VLT LEGA-C spectroscopic survey:the physics of galaxies at a lookback time of 7 Gyr

The Large Early Galaxy Census (LEGA-C) is a Public Spectroscopic Survey of ~3200 K-band selected galaxies at redshifts z = 0.6 − 1.0 with stellar masses ${M}_{*}\gt {10}^{10}\quad {M}_{\odot }$, conducted with VIMOS on ESO's Very Large Telescope. The survey is embedded in the COSMOS field (R.A. = 10h00; $\mathrm{decl}.\;=\;+2\;\mathrm{deg}$). The 20 hr long integrations produce high-signal-to-noise ratio continuum spectra that reveal ages, metallicities and velocity dispersions of the stellar populations. LEGA-C's unique combination of sample size and depth will enable us for the first time to map the stellar content at large lookback time, across galaxies of different types and star formation activity. Observations started in 2014 December and are planned to be completed by mid 2018, with early data releases of the spectra and value-added products. In this paper we present the science case, the observing strategy, an overview of the data reduction process and data products, and a first look at the relationship between galaxy structure and spectral properties, as it existed 7 Gyr ago

Mechanical Influences on Morphogenesis of the Knee Joint Revealed through Morphological, Molecular and Computational Analysis of Immobilised Embryos

Very little is known about the regulation of morphogenesis in synovial joints. Mechanical forces generated from muscle contractions are required for normal development of several aspects of normal skeletogenesis. Here we show that biophysical stimuli generated by muscle contractions impact multiple events during chick knee joint morphogenesis influencing differential growth of the skeletal rudiment epiphyses and patterning of the emerging tissues in the joint interzone. Immobilisation of chick embryos was achieved through treatment with the neuromuscular blocking agent Decamethonium Bromide. The effects on development of the knee joint were examined using a combination of computational modelling to predict alterations in biophysical stimuli, detailed morphometric analysis of 3D digital representations, cell proliferation assays and in situ hybridisation to examine the expression of a selected panel of genes known to regulate joint development. This work revealed the precise changes to shape, particularly in the distal femur, that occur in an altered mechanical environment, corresponding to predicted changes in the spatial and dynamic patterns of mechanical stimuli and region specific changes in cell proliferation rates. In addition, we show altered patterning of the emerging tissues of the joint interzone with the loss of clearly defined and organised cell territories revealed by loss of characteristic interzone gene expression and abnormal expression of cartilage markers. This work shows that local dynamic patterns of biophysical stimuli generated from muscle contractions in the embryo act as a source of positional information guiding patterning and morphogenesis of the developing knee joint