1,939 research outputs found
Extended Photometry for the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: A Testbed for Photometric Redshift Experiments
This paper describes a new catalog that supplements the existing DEEP2 Galaxy
Redshift Survey photometric and spectroscopic catalogs with ugriz photometry
from two other surveys; the Canada-France-Hawaii Legacy Survey (CFHTLS) and the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Each catalog is cross-matched by position on
the sky in order to assign ugriz photometry to objects in the DEEP2 catalogs.
We have recalibrated the CFHTLS photometry where it overlaps DEEP2 in order to
provide a more uniform dataset. We have also used this improved photometry to
predict DEEP2 BRI photometry in regions where only poorer measurements were
available previously. In addition, we have included improved astrometry tied to
SDSS rather than USNO-A2.0 for all DEEP2 objects. In total this catalog
contains ~27,000 objects with full ugriz photometry as well as robust
spectroscopic redshift measurements, 64% of which have r > 23. By combining the
secure and accurate redshifts of the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey with ugriz
photometry, we have created a catalog that can be used as an excellent testbed
for future photo-z studies, including tests of algorithms for surveys such as
LSST and DES.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures and 5 tables. Accepted to The Astrophysical
Journal Supplement. Catalogs are publicly available at
http://deep.ps.uci.edu/DR4/photo.extended.htm
Plenary Session II ā Medical Track: Substance and Medication Use
This session will provide information on driversā use of prescription medications, poly-pharmacy, alcohol, āmedicalā marijuana, and illegal drugs and the impact these substances may have on oneās ability to safely operate a motor vehicle
Geikie's field researches and their geological controversies
All of us were introduced to the Moine Thrust Belt and its controversies by the late Mike Coward. We are indebted to him for instilling a passion for structural geology, challenging conventional wisdom and for tales of early protagonists. We also thank the late John Mendum, who kindly shared a copy of his notes on the Highlands Controversy, together with Robert Neller, Collections Officer at Haslemere Educational Museum, for facilitating access to Geikieās field-notes and artwork.Peer reviewedPostprin
Structures of the DfsB protein family suggest a cationic, helical sibling lethal factor peptide
Bacteria have developed a variety of mechanisms for surviving harsh environmental conditions, nutrient stress and overpopulation. Paenibacillus dendritiformis produces a lethal protein (Slf) that is able to induce cell death in neighbouring colonies and a phenotypic switch in more distant ones. Slf is derived from the secreted precursor protein, DfsB, after proteolytic processing. Here, we present new crystal structures of DfsB homologues from a variety of bacterial species and a surprising version present in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Adopting a four-helix bundle decorated with a further three short helices within intervening loops, DfsB belongs to a non-enzymatic class of the DinB fold. The structure suggests that the biologically active Slf fragment may possess a C-terminal helix rich in basic and aromatic residues that suggest a functional mechanism akin to that for cationic antimicrobial peptides
FreeSurfer vs. Manual Tracing: Distinguishing Stable from Cognitively Declining Elders Using Prospectively Measured Hippocampal Volume
Objective: Alzheimerās disease (AD) pathology is thought to begin years before symptom onset. Hippocampal volume is sensitive to age-related cognitive decline and conversion from MCI to AD. Measurement of hippocampal volumes has used either automated methods such as FreeSurfer (FS) or manual tracing (MT). We compared the ability of FS and MT in detecting baseline volume differences in cognitively intact older individuals who subsequently showed significant cognitive decline.
Participants and Methods: Seventy-five cognitively intact elders underwent baseline and 18-month follow-up structural MRI scan and neuropsychological testing. Participants were classified as Declining (n=27) or Stable (n=48) based on the baseline to 18-month changes on a listlearning task and a measure of general cognitive functioning. A 2 (left, right) x 2 (anterior, posterior) x 2 (Declining, Stable) repeated measures ANOVA was conducted for both the MT and FS hippocampal volumes derived at baseline.
Results: MT identified significantly smaller left and right hippocampal volumes and smaller anterior than posterior hippocampal volumes in Declining compared to Stable subjects. In contrast, no group differences in hippocampal volumes were observed using FS. Notably, MT included more subiculum and entorhinal cortex, while FS included more of the amygdala and the CA region of the hippocampus.
Conclusions: MT was superior to FS for detecting prospective volumetric differences associated with cognitive decline in cognitively intact older participants. MT afforded more unique coverage of the anterior hippocampus than FS. The differences in regional coverage of the mesial temporal lobe between MT and FS may account for the different findings in discriminating Stable and Declining groups
Prediction of Longitudinal White Matter Change in Healthy Elderly Individuals
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) studies have shown that significant alteration in white matter (WM) integrity differentiates healthy older adults from persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). Most studies, however, have been cross-sectional and have not related longitudinal DTI changes to cognitive change. Here we report changes in WM integrity and cognition in healthy older adults over an 18-month interval. Sixty-seven cognitively intact elders underwent neuropsychological testing and DTI at baseline to follow-up on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (recall sum across trials 1-5, delayed recall) and Mattis Dementia Rating Scale-2. Declining participants (N=21) showed a minimum of 1 SD reduction on at least one cognitive measure, while Stable participants (N=46) showed comparable scores at each time point. WM regions-of-interest were derived from Freesurfer. Hierarchical linear regression was used to predict fractional anisotropy (FA) change in regions frequently identified in DTI studies of MCI and AD including transentorhinal cortex, temporal lobe, and posterior cingulate. Groups did not differ at baseline in age, cognition, FA, or WM volume. After controlling for age and baseline FA, cognitive status (Declining, Stable) predicted the baseline to 18-month reduction in FA in the right hippocampal gyrus (p=.004) and left fusi-form gyrus (p=.01) with a trend in the left middle temporal gyrus (p=.06). Future research should examine WM changes in other brain regions and determine whether DTI diffusivity measures are related to cognitive decline
Evolving Evolvability in the Context of Environmental Change: A Gene Regulatory Network (GRN) Approach
Evolvability is the capacity of a genotype to rapidly adjust to certain types of environmental challenges or opportuni-ties. This capacity, documented in nature, reflects fore-sight enabled by the capacity of evolution to capture and represent regularities not only in extant environments, but in the ways in which the environments tend to change. Here we posit that evolvability substantially benefits from the hierarchical representations afforded by Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs). We present an extension of standard Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and demonstrate its capacity to learn a genotype phylogeny able to express rapid phenotypic shifts in the context of an oscillating environment
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