We investigate the non-linear evolution of the matter power spectrum by using a large set of high-resolution N-body/hydrodynamic simulations. The linear matter power in the initial conditions is ...consistently modified to mimic the presence of warm dark matter (WDM) particles which induce a small-scale cut-off in the power as compared to standard cold dark matter scenarios. The impact of such thermal relics is examined at small scales k > 1 h Mpc−1, at redshifts of z < 5, which are particularly important for the next generation of Lyman α forest, weak lensing and galaxy clustering surveys. We measure the mass and redshift dependence of the WDM non-linear matter power and provide a fitting formula which is accurate at the ∼2 per cent level below z= 3 and for particle masses of m
WDM≥ 0.5 keV. The role of baryonic physics on the WDM-induced suppression is also quantified. In particular, we examine the effects of cooling, star formation and feedback from strong galactic winds. Finally, we find that a modified version of the halo model describes the shape of the WDM suppressed power spectra better than halofit. In the case of weak lensing however, the latter works better than the former, since it is more accurate on the relevant, mid-range scales, albeit very inaccurate on the smallest scales (k > 10 h Mpc−1) of the matter power spectrum.
While the cultivated area of pollinator-dependent crops is increasing, pollinator availability is decreasing, leading to problems in many agroecosystems. For this reason, pollinator-dependent crop ...growers often rent beehives to support their pollination requirements to sustain fruit productivity. However, the efficiency of those pollination systems has not been extensively studied. Here, we compared the effect of "precision" pollination (i.e., application of pesticides coordinated with growers, audit of hives, dietary supplementation and individual distribution of hives) with conventional practices (i.e., pesticides applications without coordination with growers and no audit of hives, low maintenance of hives and hives distributed in large groups) on the mean level of pollination and fruit production and quality in blueberry crops. In nine blueberry fields, we measured bee visitation rate to flowers, fruit set, fruit firmness and fruit weight. On average, precision-pollinated plots had 70% more bee visits to flowers and produced 13% more fruits that were 12% heavier and 12% firmer than those obtained through conventional practices. These results showed that pollination efficiency could be improved if key management related to bee strength, distribution and health care are taken into account. Due to these results, we encourage growers and beekeepers to include precision pollination practices to both increase the productivity of blueberry fields and the wellbeing of honey bees within agroecosystems.
We present the results of observations taken with the X-shooter spectrograph devoted to the study of quasars at z ∼ 6. This paper focuses on the properties of metals at high redshift traced, in ...particular, by the C iv doublet absorption systems. Six objects were observed with resolutions 27 and 34 km s−1 in the visual, and 37.5 and 53.5 km s−1 in the near-infrared. We detected 102 C iv lines in the range: 4.35 < z < 6.2 of which 27 are above z ∼ 5. Thanks to the characteristics of resolution and spectral coverage of X-shooter, we could also detect 25 Si iv doublets associated with the C iv at z 5. The column density distribution function of the C iv line sample is observed to evolve in redshift for z 5.3, with respect to the normalization defined by low-redshift (1.5 < z < 4) C iv lines. This behaviour is reflected in the redshift evolution of the C iv cosmic mass density,
, of lines with column density in the range
, which is consistent with a drop of a factor of ∼2 for z 5.3. Considering only the stronger C iv lines (
),
gently rises by a factor of ∼10 between z 6.2 and z 1.5 with a possible flattening towards z ∼ 0. The increase is well fitted by a power law:
. An insight into the properties of the C iv absorbers and their evolution with redshift is obtained by comparing the observed column densities of associated C iv, Si iv and C ii absorptions with the output of a set of cloudy photoionization models. As already claimed by cosmological simulations, we find that C iv is a good tracer of the metallicity in the low-density intergalactic medium (IGM) gas at z ∼ 5-6 while at z ∼ 3 it arises in gas with overdensity δ ∼ 100.
Abstract
We measure the quasar two-point correlation function over the redshift range 2.2 < z < 2.8 using data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. We use a homogeneous subset of the ...data consisting of 27 129 quasars with spectroscopic redshifts - by far the largest such sample used for clustering measurements at these redshifts to date. The sample covers 3600 deg2, corresponding to a comoving volume of 9.7 (h
−1 Gpc)3 assuming a fiducial Λ cold dark matter cosmology, and it has a median absolute i-band magnitude of −26, k-corrected to z= 2. After accounting for redshift errors we find that the redshift-space correlation function is fitted well by a power law of slope −2 and amplitude s
0 = (9.7 ± 0.5) h
−1 Mpc over the range 3 < s < 25 h
−1 Mpc. The projected correlation function, which integrates out the effects of peculiar velocities and redshift errors, is fitted well by a power law of slope −1 and r
0 = (8.4 ± 0.6) h
−1 Mpc over the range 4 < R < 16 h
−1 Mpc. There is no evidence for strong luminosity or redshift dependence to the clustering amplitude, in part because of the limited dynamic range in our sample. Our results are consistent with, but more precise than, previous measurements at similar redshifts. Our measurement of the quasar clustering amplitude implies a bias factor of b ≃ 3.5 for our quasar sample. We compare the data to models to constrain the manner in which quasars occupy dark matter haloes at z∼ 2.4 and infer that such quasars inhabit haloes with a characteristic mass of 〈M〉≃ 1012
h
−1 M⊙ with a duty cycle for the quasar activity of 1 per cent.
ABSTRACT
The warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) contains a significant portion of the ‘missing baryons’. Its detection in emission remains a challenge. Integral field spectrometers like X-IFU on ...board of the Athena satellite will secure WHIM detection in absorption and emission and, for the first time, allow us to investigate its physical properties. In our research, we use the CAMELS simulations to model the surface brightness maps of the OVII and OVIII ion lines and compute summary statistics like photon counts and 2-point correlation functions to infer the properties of the WHIM. Our findings confirm that detectable WHIM emission is primarily associated with galaxy haloes, and the properties of the WHIM show minimal evolution from z ∼ 0.5 to the present time. By exploring a wide range of parameters within the CAMELS suite, we investigate the sensitivity of WHIM properties to cosmology and energy feedback mechanisms influenced by active galactic nuclei and stellar activity. This approach allows us to separate the cosmological aspects from the baryonic processes and place constraints on the latter. Additionally, we provide forecasts for WHIM observations using a spectrometer similar to X-IFU. We anticipate detecting 1–3 WHIM emission lines per pixel and mapping the WHIM emission profile around haloes up to a few tens of arcminutes, surpassing the typical size of a WHIM emitter. Overall, our work demonstrates the potential of emission studies to probe the densest phase of the WHIM, shedding light on its physical properties and offering insights into the cosmological and baryonic processes at play.
The redshifts of all cosmologically distant sources are expected to experience a small, systematic drift as a function of time due to the evolution of the Universe's expansion rate. A measurement of ...this effect would represent a direct and entirely model-independent determination of the expansion history of the Universe over a redshift range that is inaccessible to other methods. Here we investigate the impact of the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes on the feasibility of detecting and characterizing the cosmological redshift drift. We consider the Lyα forest in the redshift range 2 < z < 5 and other absorption lines in the spectra of high-redshift QSOs as the most suitable targets for a redshift drift experiment. Assuming photon-noise-limited observations and using extensive Monte Carlo simulations we determine the accuracy to which the redshift drift can be measured from the Lyα forest as a function of signal-to-noise ratio and redshift. Based on this relation and using the brightness and redshift distributions of known QSOs we find that a 42-m telescope is capable of unambiguously detecting the redshift drift over a period of ∼20 yr using 4000 h of observing time. Such an experiment would provide independent evidence for the existence of dark energy without assuming spatial flatness, using any other cosmological constraints or making any other astrophysical assumption.
There are two major genetic types of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV): type 1 (EBV-1) and type 2 (EBV-2). EBV functions by manipulating gene expression in host B cells, using virus-encoded gene regulatory ...proteins including Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen 2 (EBNA2). While type 1 EBNA2 is known to interact with human transcription factors (hTFs) such as RBPJ, EBF1, and SPI1 (PU.1), type 2 EBNA2 shares only ~ 50% amino acid identity with type 1 and thus may have distinct binding partners, human genome binding locations, and functions.
In this study, we examined genome-wide EBNA2 binding in EBV-1 and EBV-2 transformed human B cells to identify shared and unique EBNA2 interactions with the human genome, revealing thousands of type-specific EBNA2 ChIP-seq peaks. Computational predictions based on hTF motifs and subsequent ChIP-seq experiments revealed that both type 1 and 2 EBNA2 co-occupy the genome with SPI1 and AP-1 (BATF and JUNB) hTFs. However, type 1 EBNA2 showed preferential co-occupancy with EBF1, and type 2 EBNA2 preferred RBPJ. These differences in hTF co-occupancy revealed possible mechanisms underlying type-specific gene expression of known EBNA2 human target genes: MYC (shared), CXCR7 (type 1 specific), and CD21 (type 2 specific). Both type 1 and 2 EBNA2 binding events were enriched at systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and multiple sclerosis (MS) risk loci, while primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) risk loci were specifically enriched for type 2 peaks.
This study reveals extensive type-specific EBNA2 interactions with the human genome, possible differences in EBNA2 interaction partners, and a possible new role for type 2 EBNA2 in autoimmune disorders. Our results highlight the importance of considering EBV type in the control of human gene expression and disease-related investigations.
ABSTRACT
We present a new, uniform analysis of the H i transmitted flux (F) and H i column density ($N_{\mathrm{H\,{\small I}}}$) distribution in the low-density IGM as a function of redshift z for 0 ...< z < 3.6 using 55 HST/COS FUV (Δz = 7.2 at z < 0.5), five HST/STIS + COS NUV (Δz = 1.3 at z ∼ 1) and 24 VLT/UVES, and Keck/HIRES (Δz = 11.6 at 1.7 < z < 3.6) AGN spectra. We performed a consistent, uniform Voigt profile analysis to combine spectra taken with different instruments, to reduce systematics and to remove metal-line contamination. We confirm previously known conclusions on firmer quantitative grounds in particular by improving the measurements at z ∼ 1. Two flux statistics at 0 < F < 1, the mean H i flux and the flux probability distribution function (PDF), show that considerable evolution occurs from z = 3.6 to z = 1.5, after which it slows down to become effectively stable for z < 0.5. However, there are large sightline variations. For the H i column density distribution function (CDDF, f ∝ $N_{\rm H\,{\small I}}^{-\beta }$) at $\log (N_{\mathrm{H\,{\small I}}}/1\, {\mathrm{cm}^{-2}})$ ∈ 13.5, 16.0, β increases as z decreases from β = 1.60 at z ∼ 3.4 to β = 1.82 at z ∼ 0.1. The CDDF shape at lower redshifts can be reproduced by a small amount of clockwise rotation of a higher-z CDDF with a slightly larger CDDF normalization. The absorption line number per z (dn/dz) shows a similar evolutionary break at z ∼ 1.5 as seen in the flux statistics. High-$N_{\mathrm{H\,{\small I}}}$ absorbers evolve more rapidly than low-$N_{\mathrm{H\,{\small I}}}$ absorbers to decrease in number or cross-section with time. The individual dn/dz shows a large scatter at a given z. The scatter increases towards lower z, possibly caused by a stronger clustering at lower z.
The molecular processes underlying human health and disease are highly complex. Often, genetic and environmental factors contribute to a given disease or phenotype in a non-additive manner, yielding ...a gene-environment (G × E) interaction. In this work, we broadly review current knowledge on the impact of gene-environment interactions on human health. We first explain the independent impact of genetic variation and the environment. We next detail well-established G × E interactions that impact human health involving environmental toxicants, pollution, viruses, and sex chromosome composition. We conclude with possibilities and challenges for studying G × E interactions.
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