Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): curation and reanalysis of 16.6k redshifts in the G10/COSMOS region

We discuss the construction of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) 10h region (G10) using publicly available data in the Cosmic Evolution Survey region (COSMOS) in order to extend the GAMA survey to z ∼ 1 in a single deg2 field. In order to obtain the maximum number of high precision spectroscopic redshifts we re-reduce all archival zCOSMOS-bright data and use the GAMA automatic cross-correlation redshift fitting code autoz. We use all available redshift information (autoz, zCOSMOS-bright 10k, PRIMUS, VVDS, SDSS and photometric redshifts) to calculate robust best-fitting redshifts for all galaxies and visually inspect all 1D and 2D spectra to obtain 16 583 robust redshifts in the full COSMOS region. We then define the G10 region to be the central ∼1 deg2 of COSMOS, which has relatively high spectroscopic completeness, and encompasses the CHILES VLA region. We define a combined r < 23.0 mag and i < 22.0 mag G10 sample (selected to have the highest bijective overlap) with which to perform future analysis, containing 9861 sources with reliable high-precision VLT-VIMOS spectra. All tables, spectra and imaging are available at http://ict.icrar.org/cutout/G10

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): growing up in a bad neighbourhood - how do low-mass galaxies become passive?

Both theoretical predictions and observations of the very nearby Universe suggest that low-mass galaxies (log$_{10}$[M$_{*}$/M$_{\odot}$]<9.5) are likely to remain star-forming unless they are affected by their local environment. To test this premise, we compare and contrast the local environment of both passive and star-forming galaxies as a function of stellar mass, using the Galaxy and Mass Assembly survey. We find that passive fractions are higher in both interacting pair and group galaxies than the field at all stellar masses, and that this effect is most apparent in the lowest mass galaxies. We also find that essentially all passive log$_{10}$[M$_{*}$/M$_{\odot}$]<8.5 galaxies are found in pair/group environments, suggesting that local interactions with a more massive neighbour cause them to cease forming new stars. We find that the effects of immediate environment (local galaxy-galaxy interactions) in forming passive systems increases with decreasing stellar mass, and highlight that this is potentially due to increasing interaction timescales giving sufficient time for the galaxy to become passive via starvation. We then present a simplistic model to test this premise, and show that given our speculative assumptions, it is consistent with our observed results.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, Accepted to MNRA

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): a deeper view of the mass, metallicity and SFR relationships

A full appreciation of the role played by gas metallicity (Z), star formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass (M*) is fundamental to understanding how galaxies form and evolve. The connections between these three parameters at different redshifts significantly affect galaxy evolution, and thus provide important constraints for galaxy evolution models. Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey–Data Release 7 (SDSS–DR7) and the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) surveys, we study the relationships and dependences between SFR, Z and M*, as well as the Fundamental Plane for star-forming galaxies. We combine both surveys using volume-limited samples up to a redshift of z ≈ 0.36. The GAMA and SDSS surveys complement each other when analysing the relationships between SFR, M* and Z. We present evidence for SFR and metallicity evolution to z ∼ 0.2. We study the dependences between SFR, M*, Z and specific SFR (SSFR) on the M*–Z, M*–SFR, M*–SSFR, Z–SFR and Z–SSFR relations, finding strong correlations between all. Based on those dependences, we propose a simple model that allows us to explain the different behaviour observed between low- and high-mass galaxies. Finally, our analysis allows us to confirm the existence of a Fundamental Plane, for which M* = f(Z, SFR) in star-forming galaxies

The importance of content and face validity in instrument development: lessons learnt from service users when developing the Recovering Quality of Life measure (ReQoL).

PURPOSE: Service user involvement in instrument development is increasingly recognised as important, but is often not done and seldom reported. This has adverse implications for the content validity of a measure. The aim of this paper is to identify the types of items that service users felt were important to be included or excluded from a new Recovering Quality of Life measure for people with mental health difficulties. METHODS: Potential items were presented to service users in face-to-face structured individual interviews and focus groups. The items were primarily taken or adapted from current measures and covered themes identified from earlier qualitative work as being important to quality of life. Content and thematic analysis was undertaken to identify the types of items which were either important or unacceptable to service users. RESULTS: We identified five key themes of the types of items that service users found acceptable or unacceptable; the items should be relevant and meaningful, unambiguous, easy to answer particularly when distressed, do not cause further upset, and be non-judgemental. Importantly, this was from the perspective of the service user. CONCLUSIONS: This research has underlined the importance of service users' views on the acceptability and validity of items for use in developing a new measure. Whether or not service users favoured an item was associated with their ability or intention to respond accurately and honestly to the item which will impact on the validity and sensitivity of the measure

The Architect Who Lost the Ability to Imagine: The Cerebral Basis of Visual Imagery.

While the loss of mental imagery following brain lesions was first described more than a century ago, the key cerebral areas involved remain elusive. Here we report neuropsychological data from an architect (PL518) who lost his ability for visual imagery following a bilateral posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke. We compare his profile to three other patients with bilateral PCA stroke and another architect with a large PCA lesion confined to the right hemisphere. We also compare structural images of their lesions, aiming to delineate cerebral areas selectively lesioned in acquired aphantasia. When comparing the neuropsychological profile and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the aphantasic architect PL518 to patients with either a comparable background (an architect) or bilateral PCA lesions, we find: (1) there is a large overlap of cognitive deficits between patients, with the very notable exception of aphantasia which only occurs in PL518, and (2) there is large overlap of the patients' lesions. The only areas of selective lesion in PL518 is a small patch in the left fusiform gyrus as well as part of the right lingual gyrus. We suggest that these areas, and perhaps in particular the region in the left fusiform gyrus, play an important role in the cerebral network involved in visual imagery

ProFound : source extraction and application to modern survey data

Parts of this research were conducted by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), through project number CE110001020.We introduce ProFound, a source finding and image analysis package. ProFound provides methods to detect sources in noisy images, generate segmentation maps identifying the pixels belonging to each source, and measure statistics like flux, size and ellipticity. These inputs are key requirements of ProFit, our recently released galaxy profiling package, where the design aim is that these two software packages will be used in unison to semi-automatically profile large samples of galaxies. The key novel feature introduced in ProFound is that all photometry is executed on dilated segmentation maps that fully contain the identifiable flux, rather than using more traditional circular or ellipse based photometry. Also, to be less sensitive to pathological segmentation issues, the de-blending is made across saddle points in flux. We apply ProFound in a number of simulated and real world cases, and demonstrate that it behaves reasonably given its stated design goals. In particular, it offers good initial parameter estimation for ProFit, and also segmentation maps that follow the sometimes complex geometry of resolved sources, whilst capturing nearly all of the flux. A number of bulge-disc decomposition projects are already making use of the ProFound and ProFit pipeline, and adoption is being encouraged by publicly releasing the software for the open source R data analysis platform under an LGPL-3 license on GitHub (github.com/asgr/ProFound).PostprintPeer reviewe

The Hyper Suprime-Cam extended Point Spread Functions and applications to measuring the intra-halo light

We present extended point spread function (PSF) models for the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program Public Data Release 3 (HSC-SSP PDR3) in all $\textit{g,r,i,Z}$ and $\textit{Y}$-bands. Due to its 8.2m primary mirror and long exposure periods, HSC combines deep images with wide-field coverage, making it one of the most suitable observing facilities for low surface brightness (LSB) studies. By applying a median stacking technique of point sources with different brightnesses, we show how to construct the HSC-SSP PDR3 PSF models to an extent of R $\sim$ 5.6 arcmin. These new PSFs provide the community with a crucial tool to characterise LSB properties at large angles. We apply our HSC PSFs and demonstrate that they behave reasonably in two cases: first, to generate a 2-D model of a bright star, and second, to remove the PSF-scattered light from an Ultra Deep image of the 400020 Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) group in the SXDS field. Our main focus in this second application is characterising the $\textit{r}$-band intra-halo light (IHL) component of 400020. Building on advanced source extraction techniques with careful consideration of PSF flux, we measure the IHL surface brightness (SB) group profile up to $\sim$ 31 mag arcsec$^{-2}$ and R = 300 kpc. We estimate the IHL fraction ($\mathrm{f_{IHL}}$) profile, with a mean of $\mathrm{f_{IHL}}$ $\sim$ 0.13. Our results show that not removing the PSF light can overestimate the IHL SB by $\sim$ 1.7 mag arcsec$^{-2}$ and the $\mathrm{f_{IHL}}$ by $\sim$ 30%.Comment: 21 pages, 19 figures, submitted to MNRA

The Wide Area VISTA Extra-galactic Survey (WAVES)

The "Wide Area VISTA Extra-galactic Survey" (WAVES) is a 4MOST Consortium Design Reference Survey which will use the VISTA/4MOST facility to spectroscopically survey ~2million galaxies to $r_{\rm AB} < 22$ mag. WAVES consists of two interlocking galaxy surveys ("WAVES-Deep" and "WAVES-Wide"), providing the next two steps beyond the highly successful 1M galaxy Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the 250k Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey. WAVES will enable an unprecedented study of the distribution and evolution of mass, energy, and structures extending from 1-kpc dwarf galaxies in the local void to the morphologies of 200-Mpc filaments at $z\sim1$. A key aim of both surveys will be to compare comprehensive empirical observations of the spatial properties of galaxies, groups, and filaments, against state-of-the-art numerical simulations to distinguish between various Dark Matter models

Duration of antibiotic treatment for common infections in English primary care: cross sectional analysis and comparison with guidelines

Objectives: To evaluate antibiotic therapy durations for common infections in English primary care and to compare this with guidelines. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: General practices contributing to The Health Improvement Network database, 2013-2015. Participants: 931,015 consultations that resulted in an antibiotic prescription for one of the following indications: acute sinusitis, acute sore throat, acute cough and bronchitis, pneumonia, acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute otitis media, acute cystitis, prostatitis, pyelonephritis, cellulitis, impetigo, scarlet fever and gastroenteritis. Main outcome measures: The main outcomes were the percentage of antibiotic prescriptions with a duration exceeding the guideline recommendation and the total number of days beyond the recommended duration for each indication. Results: The most common reasons for the prescriptions were patients consulting with acute bronchitis and cough (386,972), acute sore throat (239,231), acute otitis media (83,054), and acute sinusitis (76,683). Antibiotic treatments for upper respiratory indications and acute bronchitis accounted for more than two thirds of the total prescriptions considered, and ≥80% of these treatment courses exceeded guideline recommendations. Notable exceptions were acute sinusitis, where only 9.6% (95% CI 9.4 to 9.9%) of prescriptions exceeded 7 days and acute sore throat where only 2.1% (95% CI 2.0 to 2.1) exceed 10 days (recent guidance recommends 5 days). More than half of antibiotic prescriptions were longer than guidelines recommend for acute cystitis among females (54.6%, 95% CI 54.1 to 55.0%). The percentage of antibiotic prescriptions exceeding the recommended duration was lower for most non-respiratory infections. For the 931,015 included consultations resulting in antibiotic prescriptions, approximately 1.3 million days were beyond the durations recommended by the guidelines. Conclusion: For most common infections treated in primary care, a substantial proportion of antibiotic prescriptions have durations exceeding those recommended in guidelines. Substantial reductions in antibiotic exposure can be accomplished by aligning antibiotic prescription durations with guidelines