98 research outputs found
LEVERAGING PLASMA-DERIVED EXOSOMES FOR BIOMARKER DISCOVERY IN SICKLE CELL DISEASE: PREPARATION FOR A LARGE PROSPECTIVE STUDY
Diverse clinical variability among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients opposes crises prediction, health monitor- ing and streamlined management. Thus, an unmet need for objective biomarkers prevails. Exosomes are extra-cellular nano-vesicles (50-150nm), enriched in bioactive lipids, proteins, mRNAs and miRNAs, released by cells. They transport molecular cargo to nearby/distant cells to affect-regulate biological processes. Recent studies by Khalyfa et al. assessed the plasma exosome content, their sources and transcriptomics signature as predictive marker in SCD children with acute chest syndrome. However, the small sample sizes (32 and 33 individuals, respectively) may not capture the clinical variability
The Planck-LFI flight model composite waveguides
The Low Frequency Instrument on board the PLANCK satellite is designed to
give the most accurate map ever of the CMB anisotropy of the whole sky over a
broad frequency band spanning 27 to 77 GHz. It is made of an array of 22
pseudo-correlation radiometers, composed of 11 actively cooled (20 K) Front End
Modules (FEMs), and 11 Back End Modules (BEMs) at 300K. The connection between
the two parts is made with rectangular Wave Guides. Considerations of different
nature (thermal, electromagnetic and mechanical), imposed stringent
requirements on the WGs characteristics and drove their design. From the
thermal point of view, the WG should guarantee good insulation between the FEM
and the BEM sections to avoid overloading the cryocooler. On the other hand it
is essential that the signals do not undergo excessive attenuation through the
WG. Finally, given the different positions of the FEM modules behind the focal
surface and the mechanical constraints given by the surrounding structures,
different mechanical designs were necessary. A composite configuration of
Stainless Steel and Copper was selected to satisfy all the requirements. Given
the complex shape and the considerable length (about 1.5-2 m), manufacturing
and testing the WGs was a challenge. This work deals with the development of
the LFI WGs, including the choice of the final configuration and of the
fabrication process. It also describes the testing procedure adopted to fully
characterize these components from the electromagnetic point of view and the
space qualification process they underwent. Results obtained during the test
campaign are reported and compared with the stringent requirements. The
performance of the LFI WGs is in line with requirements, and the WGs were
successfully space qualified.Comment: this paper is part of the Prelaunch status LFI papers published on
JINST: http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=extra.proc5/jins
Planck-LFI radiometers' spectral response
The Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) is an array of pseudo-correlation
radiometers on board the Planck satellite, the ESA mission dedicated to
precision measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The LFI covers three
bands centred at 30, 44 and 70 GHz, with a goal bandwidth of 20% of the central
frequency.
The characterization of the broadband frequency response of each radiometer
is necessary to understand and correct for systematic effects, particularly
those related to foreground residuals and polarization measurements. In this
paper we present the measured band shape of all the LFI channels and discuss
the methods adopted for their estimation. The spectral characterization of each
radiometer was obtained by combining the measured spectral response of
individual units through a dedicated RF model of the LFI receiver scheme.
As a consistency check, we also attempted end-to-end spectral measurements of
the integrated radiometer chain in a cryogenic chamber. However, due to
systematic effects in the measurement setup, only qualitative results were
obtained from these tests. The measured LFI bandpasses exhibit a moderate level
of ripple, compatible with the instrument scientific requirements.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, this paper is part of the Prelaunch status LFI
papers published on JINST:
http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=extra.proc5/jins
Thermal susceptibility of the Planck-LFI receivers
This paper is part of the Prelaunch status LFI papers published on JINST:
http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=extra.proc5/jinst .
This paper describes the impact of the Planck Low Frequency Instrument front
end physical temperature fluctuations on the output signal. The origin of
thermal instabilities in the instrument are discussed, and an analytical model
of their propagation and impact on the receivers signal is described. The
experimental test setup dedicated to evaluate these effects during the
instrument ground calibration is reported together with data analysis methods.
Finally, main results obtained are discussed and compared to the requirements.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article
accepted for publication in Journal of Instrumentation. IOP Publishing Ltd is
not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript
or any version derived from it. The definitive publisher authenticated
version is available online at 10.1088/1748-0221/4/12/T1201
Planck-LFI: Design and Performance of the 4 Kelvin Reference Load Unit
The LFI radiometers use a pseudo-correlation design where the signal from the
sky is continuously compared with a stable reference signal, provided by a
cryogenic reference load system. The reference unit is composed by small
pyramidal horns, one for each radiometer, 22 in total, facing small absorbing
targets, made of a commercial resin ECCOSORB CR (TM), cooled to approximately
4.5 K. Horns and targets are separated by a small gap to allow thermal
decoupling. Target and horn design is optimized for each of the LFI bands,
centered at 70, 44 and 30 GHz. Pyramidal horns are either machined inside the
radiometer 20K module or connected via external electro-formed bended
waveguides. The requirement of high stability of the reference signal imposed a
careful design for the radiometric and thermal properties of the loads.
Materials used for the manufacturing have been characterized for thermal, RF
and mechanical properties. We describe in this paper the design and the
performance of the reference system.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article
accepted for publication in JINST. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for
any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version
derived from it. The definitive publisher authenticated version is available
online at [10.1088/1748-0221/4/12/T12006]. 14 pages, 34 figure
Cryogenic characterization of the Planck sorption cooler system flight model
This paper is part of the Prelaunch status LFI papers published on JINST:
http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=extra.proc5/1748-0221
Two continuous closed-cycle hydrogen Joule-Thomson (J-T) sorption coolers
have been fabricated and assembled by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for
the European Space Agency (ESA) Planck mission. Each refrigerator has been
designed to provide a total of ~ 1W of cooling power at two instrument
interfaces: they directly cool the Planck Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) around
20K while providing a pre-cooling stage for a 4 K J-T mechanical refrigerator
for the High Frequency Instrument (HFI). After sub-system level validation at
JPL, the cryocoolers have been delivered to ESA in 2005. In this paper we
present the results of the cryogenic qualification and test campaigns of the
Nominal Unit on the flight model spacecraft performed at the CSL (Centre
Spatial de Liege) facilities in 2008. Test results in terms of input power,
cooling power, temperature, and temperature fluctuations over the flight
allowable ranges for these interfaces are reported and analyzed with respect to
mission requirements.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article
accepted for publication in Journal of Instrumentation. IOP Publishing Ltd is
not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript
or any version derived from it. The definitive publisher authenticated
version is available online at 10.1088/1748-0221/4/12/T1201
Planck-LFI radiometers tuning
"This paper is part of the Prelaunch status LFI papers published on JINST:
http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=extra.proc5/jinst"
This paper describes the Planck Low Frequency Instrument tuning activities
performed through the ground test campaigns, from Unit to Satellite Levels.
Tuning is key to achieve the best possible instrument performance and tuning
parameters strongly depend on thermal and electrical conditions. For this
reason tuning has been repeated several times during ground tests and it has
been repeated in flight before starting nominal operations. The paper discusses
the tuning philosophy, the activities and the obtained results, highlighting
developments and changes occurred during test campaigns. The paper concludes
with an overview of tuning performed during the satellite cryogenic test
campaign (Summer 2008) and of the plans for the just started in-flight
calibration.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article
accepted for publication in JINST. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for
any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version
derived from it. The definitive publisher authenticated version is available
online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/4/12/T12013
Planck 2015 results. XXVII. The Second Planck Catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich Sources
We present the all-sky Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources detected from the 29 month full-mission data. The catalogue (PSZ2) is the largest SZ-selected sample of galaxy clusters yet produced and the deepest all-sky catalogue of galaxy clusters. It contains 1653 detections, of which 1203 are confirmed clusters with identified counterparts in external data-sets, and is the first SZ-selected cluster survey containing > confirmed clusters. We present a detailed analysis of the survey selection function in terms of its completeness and statistical reliability, placing a lower limit of 83% on the purity. Using simulations, we find that the Y5R500 estimates are robust to pressure-profile variation and beam systematics, but accurate conversion to Y500 requires. the use of prior information on the cluster extent. We describe the multi-wavelength search for counterparts in ancillary data, which makes use of radio, microwave, infra-red, optical and X-ray data-sets, and which places emphasis on the robustness of the counterpart match. We discuss the physical properties of the new sample and identify a population of low-redshift X-ray under- luminous clusters revealed by SZ selection. These objects appear in optical and SZ surveys with consistent properties for their mass, but are almost absent from ROSAT X-ray selected samples
Planck intermediate results. VIII. Filaments between interacting clusters
About half of the baryons of the Universe are expected to be in the form of
filaments of hot and low density intergalactic medium. Most of these baryons
remain undetected even by the most advanced X-ray observatories which are
limited in sensitivity to the diffuse low density medium. The Planck satellite
has provided hundreds of detections of the hot gas in clusters of galaxies via
the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect and is an ideal instrument for
studying extended low density media through the tSZ effect. In this paper we
use the Planck data to search for signatures of a fraction of these missing
baryons between pairs of galaxy clusters. Cluster pairs are good candidates for
searching for the hotter and denser phase of the intergalactic medium (which is
more easily observed through the SZ effect). Using an X-ray catalogue of
clusters and the Planck data, we select physical pairs of clusters as
candidates. Using the Planck data we construct a local map of the tSZ effect
centered on each pair of galaxy clusters. ROSAT data is used to construct X-ray
maps of these pairs. After having modelled and subtracted the tSZ effect and
X-ray emission for each cluster in the pair we study the residuals on both the
SZ and X-ray maps. For the merging cluster pair A399-A401 we observe a
significant tSZ effect signal in the intercluster region beyond the virial
radii of the clusters. A joint X-ray SZ analysis allows us to constrain the
temperature and density of this intercluster medium. We obtain a temperature of
kT = 7.1 +- 0.9, keV (consistent with previous estimates) and a baryon density
of (3.7 +- 0.2)x10^-4, cm^-3. The Planck satellite mission has provided the
first SZ detection of the hot and diffuse intercluster gas.Comment: Accepted by A&
Planck early results III : First assessment of the Low Frequency Instrument in-flight performance
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