5,743 research outputs found
The dependence on environment of Cold Dark Matter Halo properties
High-resolution LCDM cosmological N-body simulations are used to study the
properties of galaxy-size dark halos in different environments (cluster, void,
and "field"). Halos in clusters and their surroundings have a median spin
parameter ~1.3 times lower, and tend to be more spherical and to have less
aligned internal angular momentum than halos in voids and the field. For halos
in clusters the concentration parameters decrease on average with mass with a
slope of ~0.1; for halos in voids these concentrations do not change with mass.
For masses <5 10^11 M_sh^-1, halos in clusters are on average ~30-40% more
concentrated and have ~2 times higher central densities than halos in voids.
When comparing only parent halos, the differences are less pronounced but they
are still significant. The Vmax-and Vrms-mass relations are shallower and more
scattered for halos in clusters than in voids, and for a given Vmax or Vrms,
the mass is smaller at z=1 than at z=0 in all the environments. At z=1, the
differences in the halo properties with environment almost dissapear,
suggesting this that the differences were stablished mainly after z~1. The
halos in clusters undergo more dramatic changes than those in the field or the
voids. The differences with environment are owing to (i) the dependence of halo
formation time on environment, and (ii) local effects as tidal stripping and
the tumultuos histories that halos suffer in high-density regions. We calculate
seminumerical models of disk galaxy evolution in halos with the properties
found for the different environments. For a given disk mass, the galaxy disks
have higher surface density, larger Vd,max and secular bulge-to-disk ratio,
lower gas fraction, and are redder as one goes from cluster to void
environments, in rough agreement with observations. (abridged)Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures included. To appear in The Astrophysical Journa
Seismic response analysis of concrete block masonry buildings: an experimental study using shaking table
The combination of a series of structural and economic advantages like the high capacity to resist compressive loads, the simple and easy method of construction, comfort properties and structural performance given for the new masonry structures makes the implementation of masonry as a profitable solution for the increased residential houses demand. An innovative solution for the construction of low to medium residential masonry buildings is here analysed. The assessment of the earthquake resistance capacity of this system is evaluated aiming at providing further guidelines for its design and construction. This paper presents a step in this process related to the experimental mechanical validation of the constructive system based on concrete block masonry buildings under seismic loading
The effects of Non-Gaussian initial conditions on the structure and substructure of Cold Dark Matter halos
We study the structure and substructure of halos obtained in N-body
simulations for a Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) cosmology with non-Gaussian
initial conditions (NGICs). The initial statistics are lognormal in the
gravitational potential field with positive (LNp) and negative (LNn) skewness;
the sign of the skewness is conserved by the density field, and the power
spectrum is the same for all the simulations. Our aim is not to test a given
non-Gaussian statistics, but to explore the generic effect of positive- and
negative-skew statistics on halo properties. From our low-resolution
simulations, we find that LNp (LNn) halos are systematically more (less)
concentrated than their Gaussian counterparts. This result is confirmed by our
Milky Way- and cluster-sized halos resimulated with high-resolution. In
addition, they show inner density profiles that depend on the statistics: the
innermost slopes of LNp (LNn) halos are steeper (shallower) than those obtained
from the corresponding Gaussian halos. A subhalo population embedded in LNp
halos is more susceptible to destruction than its counterpart inside Gaussian
halos. On the other hand, subhalos in LNn halos tend to survive longer than
subhalos in Gaussian halos. The spin parameter probability distribution of LNp
(LNn) halos is skewed to smaller (larger) values with respect to the Gaussian
case. Our results show how the statistics of the primordial density field can
influence some halo properties, opening this the possibility to constrain,
although indirectly, the primordial statistics at small scale.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. Slight corrections after referee report. To
appear in ApJ, v598, November 20, 200
Ancestry-related assortative mating in Latino populations
Examination of ancestry-informative genetic markers shows that Puerto Rican and Mexican populations have shown strong assortative mating that continues to this day
Human rhinovirus infection causes different DNA methylation changes in nasal epithelial cells from healthy and asthmatic subjects
BACKGROUND: Mechanisms underlying the development of virus-induced asthma exacerbations remain unclear. To investigate if epigenetic mechanisms could be involved in virus-induced asthma exacerbations, we undertook DNA methylation profiling in asthmatic and healthy nasal epithelial cells (NECs) during Human Rhinovirus (HRV) infection in vitro. METHODS: Global and loci-specific methylation profiles were determined via Alu element and Infinium Human Methylation 450 K microarray, respectively. Principal components analysis identified the genomic loci influenced the most by disease-status and infection. Real-time PCR and pyrosequencing were used to confirm gene expression and DNA methylation, respectively. RESULTS: HRV infection significantly increased global DNA methylation in cells from asthmatic subjects only (43.6% to 44.1%, p = 0.04). Microarray analysis revealed 389 differentially methylated loci either based on disease status, or caused by virus infection. There were disease-associated DNA methylation patterns that were not affected by HRV infection as well as HRV-induced DNA methylation changes that were unique to each group. A common methylation locus stood out in response to HRV infection in both groups, where the small nucleolar RNA, H/ACA box 12 (SNORA12) is located. Further analysis indicated that a relationship existed between SNORA12 DNA methylation and gene expression in response to HRV infection. CONCLUSIONS: We describe for the first time that Human rhinovirus infection causes DNA methylation changes in airway epithelial cells that differ between asthmatic and healthy subjects. These epigenetic differences may possibly explain the mechanism by which respiratory viruses cause asthma exacerbations
Evidence for Color Dichotomy in the Primordial Neptunian Trojan Population
In the current model of early Solar System evolution, the stable members of
the Jovian and Neptunian Trojan populations were captured into resonance from
the leftover reservoir of planetesimals during the outward migration of the
giant planets. As a result, both Jovian and Neptunian Trojans share a common
origin with the primordial disk population, whose other surviving members
constitute today's trans-Neptunian object (TNO) populations. The cold classical
TNOs are ultra-red, while the dynamically excited "hot" population of TNOs
contains a mixture of ultra-red and blue objects. In contrast, Jovian and
Neptunian Trojans are observed to be blue. While the absence of ultra-red
Jovian Trojans can be readily explained by the sublimation of volatile material
from their surfaces due to the high flux of solar radiation at 5AU, the lack of
ultra-red Neptunian Trojans presents both a puzzle and a challenge to formation
models. In this work we report the discovery by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) of
two new dynamically stable L4 Neptunian Trojans,2013 VX30 and 2014 UU240, both
with inclinations i >30 degrees, making them the highest-inclination known
stable Neptunian Trojans. We have measured the colors of these and three other
dynamically stable Neptunian Trojans previously observed by DES, and find that
2013 VX30 is ultra-red, the first such Neptunian Trojan in its class. As such,
2013 VX30 may be a "missing link" between the Trojan and TNO populations. Using
a simulation of the DES TNO detection efficiency, we find that there are 162
+/- 73 Trojans with Hr < 10 at the L4 Lagrange point of Neptune. Moreover, the
blue-to-red Neptunian Trojan population ratio should be higher than 17:1. Based
on this result, we discuss the possible origin of the ultra-red Neptunian
Trojan population and its implications for the formation history of Neptunian
Trojans
Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of asthma in ethnically diverse North American populations.
Asthma is a common disease with a complex risk architecture including both genetic and environmental factors. We performed a meta-analysis of North American genome-wide association studies of asthma in 5,416 individuals with asthma (cases) including individuals of European American, African American or African Caribbean, and Latino ancestry, with replication in an additional 12,649 individuals from the same ethnic groups. We identified five susceptibility loci. Four were at previously reported loci on 17q21, near IL1RL1, TSLP and IL33, but we report for the first time, to our knowledge, that these loci are associated with asthma risk in three ethnic groups. In addition, we identified a new asthma susceptibility locus at PYHIN1, with the association being specific to individuals of African descent (P = 3.9 × 10(-9)). These results suggest that some asthma susceptibility loci are robust to differences in ancestry when sufficiently large samples sizes are investigated, and that ancestry-specific associations also contribute to the complex genetic architecture of asthma
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