167 research outputs found
Lessons from a blind study of simulated lenses: image reconstructions do not always reproduce true convergence
In the coming years, strong gravitational lens discoveries are expected to
increase in frequency by two orders of magnitude. Lens-modelling techniques are
being developed to prepare for the coming massive influx of new lens data, and
blind tests of lens reconstruction with simulated data are needed for
validation. In this paper we present a systematic blind study of a sample of 15
simulated strong gravitational lenses from the EAGLE suite of hydrodynamic
simulations. We model these lenses with a free-form technique and evaluate
reconstructed mass distributions using criteria based on shape, orientation,
and lensed image reconstruction. Especially useful is a lensing analogue of the
Roche potential in binary star systems, which we call the . This we introduce in order to factor out the well-known
problem of steepness or mass-sheet degeneracy. Einstein radii are on average
well recovered with a relative error of for quads and
for doubles; the position angle of ellipticity is on average also reproduced
well up to , but the reconstructed mass maps tend to be too
round and too shallow. It is also easy to reproduce the lensed images, but
optimising on this criterion does not guarantee better reconstruction of the
mass distribution.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures. Published in MNRAS. Agrees with published
versio
Personalizing dental screening and prevention protocols in dentulous patients with oropharyngeal cancer undergoing radiotherapy:A retrospective cohort study
Objectives:Patients with head and neck cancer are routinely screened for dental foci prior to radiotherapy (RT) to prevent post- RT tooth extractions associated with an increased risk of osteoradionecrosis. We evaluated the risk factors for post-RT tooth extraction to personalise dental screening and prevention protocols prior to RT. Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study included dentulous patients diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer who had undergone radiation therapy at doses 60–70 Gy and achieved a disease-free survival of ≥ 1 year (N = 174). Risk factors were assessed using Cox regression models. Results: The cumulative incidence of post-RT tooth extraction was 30.7 % at 5 years. Main indications for extraction (n = 62) were radiation caries (n = 20) and periodontal disease (n = 27). Risk factors associated (p < 0.05) with radiation caries-related extractions included active smoking, alcohol abuse, poor oral hygiene, parotid gland irradiation, and mandibular irradiation. A high-dose volume in the mandible was associated with periodontal disease events. Conclusion: Post-RT extractions due to radiation caries were influenced by lifestyle factors and RT dose in the mandible and parotid glands. Periodontal disease-related extractions were primarily associated with the mandibular dose. During dental screening these post-RT risk factors should be taken into account to prevent osteoradionecrosis.</p
Time Delay Lens Modelling Challenge
In recent years, breakthroughs in methods and data have enabled gravitational
time delays to emerge as a very powerful tool to measure the Hubble constant
. However, published state-of-the-art analyses require of order 1 year of
expert investigator time and up to a million hours of computing time per
system. Furthermore, as precision improves, it is crucial to identify and
mitigate systematic uncertainties. With this time delay lens modelling
challenge we aim to assess the level of precision and accuracy of the modelling
techniques that are currently fast enough to handle of order 50 lenses, via the
blind analysis of simulated datasets. The results in Rung 1 and Rung 2 show
that methods that use only the point source positions tend to have lower
precision () while remaining accurate. In Rung 2, the methods that
exploit the full information of the imaging and kinematic datasets can recover
within the target accuracy () and precision ( per
system), even in the presence of poorly known point spread function and complex
source morphology. A post-unblinding analysis of Rung 3 showed the numerical
precision of the ray-traced cosmological simulations to be insufficient to test
lens modelling methodology at the percent level, making the results difficult
to interpret. A new challenge with improved simulations is needed to make
further progress in the investigation of systematic uncertainties. For
completeness, we present the Rung 3 results in an appendix, and use them to
discuss various approaches to mitigating against similar subtle data generation
effects in future blind challenges.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures, 6 tables, MNRAS accepte
The economics of debt clearing mechanisms
We examine the evolution of decentralized clearinghouse mechanisms from the
13th to the 18th century; in particular, we explore the clearing of non- or
limitedtradable debts like bills of exchange. We construct a theoretical model
of these clearinghouse mechanisms, similar to the models in the theoretical
matching literature, and show that specific decentralized multilateral
clearing algorithms known as rescontre, skontrieren or virement des parties
used by merchants were efficient in specific historical contexts. We can
explain both the evolutionary self-organizing emergence of late medieval and
early modern fairs, and its robustness during the 17th and 18th century
Initial activation of EpCAM cleavage via cell-to-cell contact
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epithelial cell adhesion molecule EpCAM is a transmembrane glycoprotein, which is frequently over-expressed in simple epithelia, progenitors, embryonic and tissue stem cells, carcinoma and cancer-initiating cells. Besides functioning as a homophilic adhesion protein, EpCAM is an oncogenic receptor that requires regulated intramembrane proteolysis for activation of its signal transduction capacity. Upon cleavage, the extracellular domain EpEX is released as a soluble ligand while the intracellular domain EpICD translocates into the cytoplasm and eventually into the nucleus in combination with four-and-a-half LIM domains protein 2 (FHL2) and β-catenin, and drives cell proliferation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>EpCAM cleavage, induction of the target genes, and transmission of proliferation signals were investigated under varying density conditions using confocal laser scanning microscopy, immunoblotting, cell counting, and conditional cell systems.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>EpCAM cleavage, induction of the target genes, and transmission of proliferation signals were dependent on adequate cell-to-cell contact. If cell-to-cell contact was prohibited EpCAM did not provide growth advantages. If cells were allowed to undergo contact to each other, EpCAM transmitted proliferation signals based on signal transduction-related cleavage processes. Accordingly, the pre-cleaved version EpICD was not dependent on cell-to-cell contact in order to induce <it>c-myc </it>and cell proliferation, but necessitated nuclear translocation. For the case of contact-inhibited cells, although cleavage of EpCAM occurred, nuclear translocation of EpICD was reduced, as were EpCAM effects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Activation of EpCAM's cleavage and oncogenic capacity is dependent on cellular interaction (juxtacrine) to provide for initial signals of regulated intramembrane proteolysis, which then support signalling via soluble EpEX (paracrine).</p
The Two Caenorhabditis elegans UDP-Glucose:Glycoprotein Glucosyltransferase Homologues Have Distinct Biological Functions
The UDP-Glc:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase (UGGT) is the sensor of glycoprotein conformations in the glycoprotein folding quality control as it exclusively glucosylates glycoproteins not displaying their native conformations. Monoglucosylated glycoproteins thus formed may interact with the lectin-chaperones calnexin (CNX) and calreticulin (CRT). This interaction prevents premature exit of folding intermediates to the Golgi and enhances folding efficiency. Bioinformatic analysis showed that in C. elegans there are two open reading frames (F48E3.3 and F26H9.8 to be referred as uggt-1 and uggt-2, respectively) coding for UGGT homologues. Expression of both genes in Schizosaccharomyces pombe mutants devoid of UGGT activity showed that uggt-1 codes for an active UGGT protein (CeUGGT-1). On the other hand, uggt-2 coded for a protein (CeUGGT-2) apparently not displaying a canonical UGGT activity. This protein was essential for viability, although cnx/crt null worms were viable. We constructed transgenic worms carrying the uggt-1 promoter linked to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) coding sequence and found that CeUGGT-1 is expressed in cells of the nervous system. uggt-1 is upregulated under ER stress through the ire-1 arm of the unfolded protein response (UPR). Real-time PCR analysis showed that both uggt-1 and uggt-2 genes are expressed during the entire C. elegans life cycle. RNAi-mediated depletion of CeUGGT-1 but not of CeUGGT-2 resulted in a reduced lifespan and that of CeUGGT-1 and CeUGGT-2 in a developmental delay. We found that both CeUGGT1 and CeUGGT2 play a protective role under ER stress conditions, since 10 µg/ml tunicamycin arrested development at the L2/L3 stage of both uggt-1(RNAi) and uggt-2(RNAi) but not of control worms. Furthermore, we found that the role of CeUGGT-2 but not CeUGGT-1 is significant in relieving low ER stress levels in the absence of the ire-1 unfolding protein response signaling pathway. Our results indicate that both C. elegans UGGT homologues have distinct biological functions
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