Cyberinfrastructure Software Sustainability and Reusability: Report from an NSF-funded workshop

Contributing writers: Guy Almes, Amy Apon, Geoffrey Brown, David Lifka, Andrew Lumsdaine, Marlon Pierce, Beth Plale, Ruth Pordes, Craig A. Stewart, Von Welch1, Bradley C. Wheele

Developing a Culturally Proficient Intervention for Young African American Men in Drug Court: Examining Feasibility and Estimating an Effect Size for Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT)

African American males between 18 and 29 years of age are substantially less likely than many other participants to graduate successfully from drug court. Unsuccessful termination from drug court can have serious repercussions for these young men, including possible incarceration and negative collateral consequences associated with having a criminal record. This article reports preliminary results from two pilot studies that examined the feasibility of implementing a culturally proficient intervention for young African American men in drug court, and estimated an effect size for the intervention in improving treatment retention and reducing termination rates. Results confirmed that participants with serious criminal and substance use histories were willing and able to complete the lengthy 9-month curriculum, were satisfied with the intervention, and graduated from drug court at substantially higher rates than are commonly observed in this at-risk population. A sufficient basis has been established to justify the effort and expense of examining this intervention — Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT) — in fully powered randomized controlled trials

Testing SNe Ia distance measurement methods with SN 2011fe

The nearby, bright, almost completely unreddened Type Ia supernova 2011fe in M101 provides a unique opportunity to test both the precision and the accuracy of the extragalactic distances derived from SNe Ia light curve fitters. We apply the current, public versions of the independent light curve fitting codes MLCS2k2 and SALT2 to compute the distance modulus of SN 2011fe from high-precision, multi-color (BVRI) light curves. The results from the two fitting codes confirm that 2011fe is a "normal" (not peculiar) and only slightly reddened SN Ia. New unreddened distance moduli are derived as 29.21 +/- 0.07 mag (D ~ 6.95 +/- 0.23$ Mpc, MLCS2k2), and 29.05 +/- 0.07 mag (6.46 +/- 0.21 Mpc, SALT2). Despite the very good fitting quality achieved with both light curve fitters, the resulting distance moduli are inconsistent by 2 sigma. Both are marginally consistent (at ~1 sigma) with the HST Key Project distance modulus for M101. The SALT2 distance is in good agreement with the recently revised Cepheid- and TRGB-distance to M101. Averaging all SN- and Cepheid-based estimates, the absolute distance to M101 is ~6.6 +/- 0.5 Mpc.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&

The effect of progenitor age and metallicity on luminosity and 56Ni yield in Type Ia supernovae

Timmes, Brown & Truran found that metallicity variations could theoretically account for a 25% variation in the mass of 56Ni synthesized in Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), and thus account for a large fraction of the scatter in observed SN Ia luminosities. Higher-metallicity progenitors are more neutron-rich, producing more stable burning products relative to radioactive 56Ni. We develop a new method for estimating bolometric luminosity and 56Ni yield in SNe Ia and use it to test the theory with data from the Supernova Legacy Survey. We find that the average 56Ni yield does drop in SNe Ia from high metallicity environments, but the theory can only account for 7%--10% of the dispersion in SN Ia 56Ni mass, and thus luminosity. This is because the effect is dominant at metallicities significantly above solar, whereas we find that SN hosts have predominantly subsolar or only moderately above-solar metallicities. We also show that allowing for changes in O/Fe with the metallicity [Fe/H] does not have a major effect on the theoretical prediction of Timmes, Brown & Truran, so long as one is using the O/H as the independent variable. Age may have a greater effect than metallicity -- we find that the luminosity weighted age of the host galaxy is correlated with 56Ni yield, and thus more massive progenitors give rise to more luminous explosions. This is hard to understand if most SNe Ia explode when the primaries reach the Chandrasekhar mass. Finally, we test the findings of Gallagher et al., that the residuals of SNe Ia from the Hubble diagram are correlated with host galaxy metallicity, and we find no such correlation.Comment: ApJ, accepted, 34 pages, 11 figures, apologies for one column format -- necessary for the equation

First-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) supernova results: consistency and constraints with other intermediate-redshift datasets

We present an analysis of the luminosity distances of Type Ia Supernovae from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey in conjunction with other intermediate redshift (z<0.4) cosmological measurements including redshift-space distortions from the Two-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS), the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect seen by the SDSS, and the latest Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) distance scale from both the SDSS and 2dFGRS. We have analysed the SDSS-II SN data alone using a variety of "model-independent" methods and find evidence for an accelerating universe at >97% level from this single dataset. We find good agreement between the supernova and BAO distance measurements, both consistent with a Lambda-dominated CDM cosmology, as demonstrated through an analysis of the distance duality relationship between the luminosity (d_L) and angular diameter (d_A) distance measures. We then use these data to estimate w within this restricted redshift range (z<0.4). Our most stringent result comes from the combination of all our intermediate-redshift data (SDSS-II SNe, BAO, ISW and redshift-space distortions), giving w = -0.81 +0.16 -0.18(stat) +/- 0.15(sys) and Omega_M=0.22 +0.09 -0.08 assuming a flat universe. This value of w, and associated errors, only change slightly if curvature is allowed to vary, consistent with constraints from the Cosmic Microwave Background. We also consider more limited combinations of the geometrical (SN, BAO) and dynamical (ISW, redshift-space distortions) probes.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Multi-Messenger Astronomy with Extremely Large Telescopes

The field of time-domain astrophysics has entered the era of Multi-messenger Astronomy (MMA). One key science goal for the next decade (and beyond) will be to characterize gravitational wave (GW) and neutrino sources using the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). These studies will have a broad impact across astrophysics, informing our knowledge of the production and enrichment history of the heaviest chemical elements, constrain the dense matter equation of state, provide independent constraints on cosmology, increase our understanding of particle acceleration in shocks and jets, and study the lives of black holes in the universe. Future GW detectors will greatly improve their sensitivity during the coming decade, as will near-infrared telescopes capable of independently finding kilonovae from neutron star mergers. However, the electromagnetic counterparts to high-frequency (LIGO/Virgo band) GW sources will be distant and faint and thus demand ELT capabilities for characterization. ELTs will be important and necessary contributors to an advanced and complete multi-messenger network.Comment: White paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Surve

Far from 'the magic of the mall': Retail (Change) in 'other places'

Abstract: A pre-occupation with the &lsquo;new' and a focus on corporate retailers and spaces has led to a lack of consideration of change and issues in secondary or &lsquo;other places' of retail. Using a longitudinal survey methodology, data on retail stock, churn, vacancy and use are considered for one such &lsquo;other place' - Shettleston in Glasgow. The data show complex dimensions and aspects of vulnerability and resilience, compounded by reactions to exogenous retail and other economic and social changes. Far from being &lsquo;seedy, pre-historical backwaters', Shettleston and similar &lsquo;other' places can be vital, local centres playing a variety of useful roles. They require support and attention every bit as much as more high profile town centres and high streets

The interaction of Wnt-11 and signalling cascades in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer among the male population. Conventional therapies target androgen signalling, which drives tumour growth; however, they provide limited survival benefits for patients. It is essential, therefore, to develop a more specific biomarker than the current gold standard, PSA testing. The Wnt signalling pathway induces expression of target genes through cell surface receptors. A non-canonical member of this family, Wnt-11, is evolutionarily highly conserved and is normally expressed by various cells in the developing embryo, as well as in the heart, liver and skeletal muscle of adult humans. We comprehensively review several cell signalling pathways to explain how they interact with Wnt-11, demonstrating its use as a potential biomarker for PCa. Several studies have shown that the expression of Wnt-11 is associated with gastric, renal and colorectal adenocarcinomas and PCa. Moreover, Wnt-11 affects extracellular matrix composition and cytoskeletal rearrangement, and it is required for proliferation and/or survival during cell differentiation. It was found that PCa cell lines express high levels of Wnt-11, which allows differentiation of the epithelial prostate tumour cells to neuron-like (NE) cells. The NE cells produce additional factors that can cause regression after treatment. Accumulating evidence shows that Wnt-11 could be a potential biomarker in diagnosing PCa. Many studies have shown both non-canonical and canonical Wnts interact with several signalling cascades such as PKC, JNK, NF-κB, Rho, PKA and PI3K. In particular, evidence demonstrates Wnt-11 is involved in the progression of PCa, thus it could have the potential to become both a specific disease marker and an important therapeutic target

Application of Diffusion Tensor Imaging Parameters to Detect Change in Longitudinal Studies in Cerebral Small Vessel Disease.

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is the major cause of vascular cognitive impairment, resulting in significant disability and reduced quality of life. Cognitive tests have been shown to be insensitive to change in longitudinal studies and, therefore, sensitive surrogate markers are needed to monitor disease progression and assess treatment effects in clinical trials. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is thought to offer great potential in this regard. Sensitivity of the various parameters that can be derived from DTI is however unknown. We aimed to evaluate the differential sensitivity of DTI markers to detect SVD progression, and to estimate sample sizes required to assess therapeutic interventions aimed at halting decline based on DTI data. We investigated 99 patients with symptomatic SVD, defined as clinical lacunar syndrome with MRI confirmation of a corresponding infarct as well as confluent white matter hyperintensities over a 3 year follow-up period. We evaluated change in DTI histogram parameters using linear mixed effect models and calculated sample size estimates. Over a three-year follow-up period we observed a decline in fractional anisotropy and increase in diffusivity in white matter tissue and most parameters changed significantly. Mean diffusivity peak height was the most sensitive marker for SVD progression as it had the smallest sample size estimate. This suggests disease progression can be monitored sensitively using DTI histogram analysis and confirms DTI's potential as surrogate marker for SVD