In pursuit of dark energy : improving measurements in Supernova cosmology

The Equation of State SuperNova trace Cosmic Expansion (ESSENCE) was a 6 year survey which discovered and followed 228 type Ia supernova (SN Ia). The primary goal of ESSENCE was to characterize the dark energy equation-of-state, w. However, due to limitations in the knowledge of the SN Ia progenitor system and systematic errors related to influences of the host galaxies on SN Ia distances and the photometric calibrations of the survey, the measurements are only accurate to approximately 10%. Combining the 228 SN Ia light-curves with published data, we used a set of 695 SN Ia to search for progenitor signatures in SN Ia light-curves SN Ia. Kasen 2010 predicted that the companion star in a SN Ia would create a hole in the ejecta, allowing heated emission to escape, producing a strong signature in the early phases of a SN Ia light-curve. Using Monte-Carlo simulations, we examine the 695 SN Ia light-curves, searching for the peak flux in the ultra-violet (UV) and blue filters, expected from a red giant companion. Using both the frequency of these progenitor scenarios and viewing angles of the shock break-out, 4-5 detections are predicted. Our analysis yields zero detections, with a 98.2% confidence. We explain that the SN Ia scenario involving accretion from a red giant onto a white dwarf can not make up a significant fraction of the SN Ia population and better models are needed. Also using the ESSENCE survey, we develop a new method for determining the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) and rest-frame magnitudes of the host galaxies from the UV to the infrared (IR) and use empirical relations to derive galaxy properties. We also calculate the normalized separation of the SN Ia from the center of the host galaxy. We find a substantial amount of UV emission in our passive galaxies, suggesting star-formation in these galaxies. Additionally we find an approximately 4 sigma correlation of the rest-frame Far UV (FUV) - V host galaxy color and distance residuals from best fitting cosmology (Hubble residual) when the sample is divided by host galaxy type. Lastly, we find SN Ia greater than 2 effective radii occur in low-extinction environments, producing a uniform sample of SN Ia for cosmological measurements. SN Ia at these distances have noticeable offsets in SN color and Hubble residual from the entire sample, suggesting improper SN Ia light-curve fitting, potentially biasing SN Ia distance measurements. Finally, we discuss improvements in the photometric calibration of the SN Ia photometry to reduce the systematic errors in distance measurements. We produced a photometrically flat image with less than 1% illumination gradient across the images. We also detail our automated procedure for correcting the flux of the SN Ia in a given aperture. These two improvements, along with a few other implementations, produce SN Ia photometry with approximately 1% accuracy. We compare our SN Ia photometry and light-curves to that of Wood-Vasey et al. 2007 illustrating the full extent of our improvements

The Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis) and the dredge material deposition sites at Beardstown, Illinois

Report issued on: 28 February 2002; revised 19 August 2002Prepared for unspecified recipien

Relationship between social support, quality of life, and Th2 cytokines in a biobehavioral cancer survivorship trial.

ObjectiveBenefits of social support (SS) during cancer survivorship are complex. This study examines change in SS over time in cervical cancer (CXCA) survivors who have completed definitive treatment and how changing SS impacts quality of life (QOL) and T-helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines.MethodsWe conducted a randomized trial in 204 CXCA survivors to test if psychosocial telephone counseling (PTC) could improve QOL compared to usual care (UC). Although PTC did not target SS, data were collected at baseline, 4 and 9 months post-enrollment using the Medical Outcomes Survey Social Support scale. Biospecimens were collected to investigate associations with patient-reported outcomes. Data were analyzed using multivariate linear models and stepwise regression.ResultsParticipants' mean age was 43. PTC participants experienced increasing SS compared to UC at 4 months (PTC-UC = 5.1; p = 0.055) and 9 months (PTC-UC = 6.0; p = 0.046). Higher baseline SS and increasing SS were independently associated with improved QOL at 4 and 9 months after adjusting for patient characteristics (p < 0.05). Differences between study arms were not statistically significant. Improvements in QOL at 4 months were observed with increases in emotional/informational and tangible SS. Increasing SS predicted significant longitudinal decreases in IL-4 and IL-13 at 4 months that were larger in the PTC arm (interactions p = 0.041 and p = 0.057, respectively).ConclusionImproved SS was significantly associated with improved QOL independent of patient characteristics and study arm. Decreasing Th2 cytokines with increasing SS and QOL are consistent with a biobehavioral paradigm in which modulation of the chronic stress response is associated with shifts in immune stance

A 2.4% DETERMINATION of the LOCAL VALUE of the HUBBLE CONSTANT

We use the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to reduce the uncertainty in the local value of the Hubble constant from 3.3% to 2.4%. The bulk of this improvement comes from new near-infrared (NIR) observations of Cepheid variables in 11 host galaxies of recent type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), more than doubling the sample of reliable SNe Ia having a Cepheid-calibrated distance to a total of 19; these in turn leverage the magnitude-redshift relation based on 300 SNe Ia at z < 0.15. All 19 hosts as well as the megamaser system NGC 4258 have been observed with WFC3 in the optical and NIR, thus nullifying cross-instrument zeropoint errors in the relative distance estimates from Cepheids. Other noteworthy improvements include a 33% reduction in the systematic uncertainty in the maser distance to NGC 4258, a larger sample of Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a more robust distance to the LMC based on late-type detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs), HST observations of Cepheids in M31, and new HST-based trigonometric parallaxes for Milky Way (MW) Cepheids. We consider four geometric distance calibrations of Cepheids: (i) megamasers in NGC 4258, (ii) 8 DEBs in the LMC, (iii) 15 MW Cepheids with parallaxes measured with HST/FGS, HST/WFC3 spatial scanning and/or Hipparcos, and (iv) 2 DEBs in M31. The Hubble constant from each is 72.25, 2.51, 72.04,2.67, 76.18,2.37, and 74.50,3.27 km s-1 Mpc-1, respectively. Our best estimate of H 0 = 73.24, 1.74 km s-1 Mpc-1 combines the anchors NGC 4258, MW, and LMC, yielding a 2.4% determination (all quoted uncertainties include fully propagated statistical and systematic components). This value is 3.4σ higher than 66.93, 0.62 km s-1 Mpc-1 predicted by ΛCDM with 3 neutrino flavors having a mass of 0.06 eV and the new Planck data, but the discrepancy reduces to 2.1σ relative to the prediction of 69.3, 0.7 km s-1 Mpc-1 based on the comparably precise combination of WMAP+ACT+SPT+BAO observations, suggesting that systematic uncertainties in CMB radiation measurements may play a role in the tension. If we take the conflict between Planck high-redshift measurements and our local determination of H 0 at face value, one plausible explanation could involve an additional source of dark radiation in the early universe in the range of ΔN eff ≈ 0.4-1. We anticipate further significant improvements in H 0 from upcoming parallax measurements of long-period MW Cepheid

The HI gas content of galaxies around Abell 370, a galaxy cluster at z = 0.37

We used observations from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope to measure the atomic hydrogen gas content of 324 galaxies around the galaxy cluster Abell 370 at a redshift of z = 0.37 (a look-back time of ~4 billion years). The HI 21-cm emission from these galaxies was measured by coadding their signals using precise optical redshifts obtained with the Anglo-Australian Telescope. The average HI mass measured for all 324 galaxies is (6.6 +- 3.5)x10^9 solar masses, while the average HI mass measured for the 105 optically blue galaxies is (19.0 +- 6.5)x10^9 solar masses. The significant quantities of gas found around Abell 370, suggest that there has been substantial evolution in the gas content of galaxy clusters since redshift z = 0.37. The total amount of HI gas found around Abell 370 is up to ~8 times more than that seen around the Coma cluster, a nearby galaxy cluster of similar size. Despite this higher gas content, Abell 370 shows the same trend as nearby clusters, that galaxies close to the cluster core have lower HI gas content than galaxies further away. The Abell 370 galaxies have HI mass to optical light ratios similar to local galaxy samples and have the same correlation between their star formation rate and HI mass as found in nearby galaxies. The average star formation rate derived from [OII] emission and from de-redshifted 1.4 GHz radio continuum for the Abell 370 galaxies also follows the correlation found in the local universe. The large amounts of HI gas found around the cluster can easily be consumed by the observed star formation rate in the galaxies over the ~4 billion years (from z = 0.37) to the present day.Comment: accepted by MNRA

GLUV: A balloon-borne high-cadence ultraviolet monitoring telescope for supernova shock breakouts and exoplanet atmospheres

Routine photometric monitoring at near-ultraviolet wavelengths (< 400 nm) is compromised from the ground due to highly variable atmospheric transmission and cloud cover. The GLUV project will mount a modest sized telescope (200 mm primary) on a series of long-duration high-altitude balloon flights. The wide field camera (∼7 deg 2) will perform high cadence (10-300 second rolling integrations) each night for campaign durations of three to six months. The principle science mission is the early-time detection of supernova shock-breakout at near-ultraviolet wavelengths. Additionally, early design analysis has shown the system is also able to probe the atmospheric composition of exoplanet atmospheres through the combination of UV transit measurements with ground-based measurements at longer wavelengths. In this presentation we consider the specifications for a long-duration balloon platform for such a mission, focusing on the necessary mission requirements (sensitivity, sky coverage, cadence etc.) and the available platform suitability. Particular attention is paid to platform flight altitude and atmospheric transmissio

The Relationship between Cognition, Preseason Hitting Assessments, and In-Game Batting Performance in Collegiate Baseball and Softball Players

International Journal of Exercise Science 16(6): 23-30, 2023. Successful hitting performance may be related to perceptual processing of visual information. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between preseason cognitive assessments, off-field preseason hitting assessment, and in-game batting performing in collegiate baseball and softball athletes. Collegiate varsity baseball (n = 10, 20.5 ± 1.0 years) and softball (n = 16, 20.3 ± 1.3 years) underwent Flanker Task and Trail Maker Tests A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B) 24 hours prior to a pre-seasoning indoor hitting assessment. During pre-season hitting assessment, athletes selected 10 underhand pitches and were outfitted with commercially available measurement tools (i.e., HitTrax and The Blast) to quantify swing characteristics. Batting average (BA), slugging percentage (SLUG) and on-base percentage (OBP) was obtained from subsequent 14 non-conference baseball and softball games. The data from this study demonstrated a relationship between the ball\u27s exit velocity (r = .501), bat velocity (r = .524) and average distance traveled (r = .449) during the hitting assessment and in-game BA, p \u3c 0.05. No relationship between hitting assessment outcomes and OBP or SLUG were detected, p \u3e 0.05. Furthermore, the Flanker-Task, TMT-A and TMT-B were not related to in game batting outcomes, p \u3e 0.05. Therefore, these data suggest that off-season preparation should be designed to maximize swing velocity while maintaining performance (i.e., skill) of the coordinated swing

Constraints on the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova 2014J from Pre-Explosion Hubble Space Telescope Imaging

We constrain the properties of the progenitor system of the highly reddened Type Ia supernova (SN) 2014J in Messier 82 (M82; d ~ 3.5 Mpc). We determine the SN location using Keck-II K-band adaptive optics images, and we find no evidence for flux from a progenitor system in pre-explosion near-ultraviolet through near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images. Our upper limits exclude systems having a bright red giant companion, including symbiotic novae with luminosities comparable to that of RS Ophiuchi. While the flux constraints are also inconsistent with predictions for comparatively cool He-donor systems (T < ~35,000 K), we cannot preclude a system similar to V445 Puppis. The progenitor constraints are robust across a wide range of R_V and A_V values, but significantly greater values than those inferred from the SN light curve and spectrum would yield proportionally brighter luminosity limits. The comparatively faint flux expected from a binary progenitor system consisting of white dwarf stars would not have been detected in the pre-explosion HST imaging. Infrared HST exposures yield more stringent constraints on the luminosities of very cool (T < 3000 K) companion stars than was possible in the case of SN Ia 2011fe.Comment: Accepted by ApJ 14 May 2014 with only minor revision

Current management practices and interventions prioritised as part of a nationwide mastitis control plan

The objectives of this study were to report performance and management data taken from a sample of UK dairy farms that have participated in the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Dairy Mastitis Control Plan (DMCP) and to identify important mastitis prevention practices that are not currently widely implemented. A total of 234 UK dairy herds were included in the study from which farm management and udder health data were collected. Herds were grouped according to their mastitis epidemiology and could be classed as (i) environmental dry period (EDP) (i.e. environmental pathogen with majority of infections being acquired during the dry period), (ii) environmental lactation (EL), (iii) contagious dry period (CDP) or (iv) contagious lactation (CL). The results of this study showed that many mastitis-related management practices that are generally considered to be important were not widely performed. A better understanding of those practices not widely adopted by UK dairy farmers at present may aid practitioners in identifying and overcoming potential barriers to improved mastitis control