Context. The hot plasma in a galaxy cluster is expected to be heated to high temperatures through shocks and adiabatic compression. The thermodynamical properties of the gas encode information on the ...processes leading to the thermalization of the gas in the cluster’s potential well and on non-gravitational processes such as gas cooling, AGN feedback, shocks, turbulence, bulk motions, cosmic rays and magnetic field. Aims. In this work we present the radial profiles of the thermodynamic properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) out to the virial radius for a sample of 12 galaxy clusters selected from the Planck all-sky survey. We determine the universal profiles of gas density, temperature, pressure, and entropy over more than two decades in radius, from 0.01R500 to 2R500. Methods. We exploited X-ray information from XMM-Newton and Sunyaev-Zel’dovich constraints from Planck to recover thermodynamic properties out to 2R500. We provide average functional forms for the radial dependence of the main quantities and quantify the slope and intrinsic scatter of the population as a function of radius. Results. We find that gas density and pressure profiles steepen steadily with radius, in excellent agreement with previous observational results. Entropy profiles beyond R500 closely follow the predictions for the gravitational collapse of structures. The scatter in all thermodynamical quantities reaches a minimum in the range 0.2 − 0.8R500 and increases outward. Somewhat surprisingly, we find that pressure is substantially more scattered than temperature and density. Conclusions. Our results indicate that once accreting substructures are properly excised, the properties of the ICM beyond the cooling region (R > 0.3R500) follow remarkably well the predictions of simple gravitational collapse and require few non-gravitational corrections.
Aims. We present the reconstruction of hydrostatic mass profiles in 13 X-ray luminous galaxy clusters that have been mapped in their X-ray and Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) signals out to R200 for the ...XMM-Newton Cluster Outskirts Project (X-COP). Methods. Using profiles of the gas temperature, density, and pressure that have been spatially resolved out to median values of 0.9R500, 1.8R500, and 2.3R500, respectively, we are able to recover the hydrostatic gravitating mass profile with several methods and using different mass models. Results. The hydrostatic masses are recovered with a relative (statistical) median error of 3% at R500 and 6% at R200. By using several different methods to solve the equation of the hydrostatic equilibrium, we evaluate some of the systematic uncertainties to be of the order of 5% at both R500 and R200. A Navarro-Frenk-White profile provides the best-fit in 9 cases out of 13; the remaining 4 cases do not show a statistically significant tension with it. The distribution of the mass concentration follows the correlations with the total mass predicted from numerical simulations with a scatter of 0.18 dex, with an intrinsic scatter on the hydrostatic masses of 0.15 dex. We compare them with the estimates of the total gravitational mass obtained through X-ray scaling relations applied to YX, gas fraction, and YSZ, and from weak lensing and galaxy dynamics techniques, and measure a substantial agreement with the results from scaling laws, from WL at both R500 and R200 (with differences below 15%), from cluster velocity dispersions. Instead, we find a significant tension with the caustic masses that tend to underestimate the hydrostatic masses by 40% at R200. We also compare these measurements with predictions from alternative models to the cold dark matter, like the emergent gravity and MOND scenarios, confirming that the latter underestimates hydrostatic masses by 40% at R1000, with a decreasing tension as the radius increases, and reaches ∼15% at R200, whereas the former reproduces M500 within 10%, but overestimates M200 by about 20%. Conclusions. The unprecedented accuracy of these hydrostatic mass profiles out to R200 allows us to assess the level of systematic errors in the hydrostatic mass reconstruction method, to evaluate the intrinsic scatter in the NFW c − M relation, and to robustly quantify differences among different mass models, different mass proxies, and different gravity scenarios.
Galaxy clusters are the endpoints of structure formation and are continuously growing through the merging and accretion of smaller structures. Numerical simulations predict that a fraction of their ...energy content is not yet thermalized, mainly in the form of kinetic motions (turbulence, bulk motions). Measuring the level of non-thermal pressure support is necessary to understand the processes leading to the virialization of the gas within the potential well of the main halo and to calibrate the biases in hydrostatic mass estimates. We present high-quality measurements of hydrostatic masses and intracluster gas fraction out to the virial radius for a sample of 13 nearby clusters with available XMM-Newton and Planck data. We compare our hydrostatic gas fractions with the expected universal gas fraction to constrain the level of non-thermal pressure support. We find that hydrostatic masses require little correction and infer a median non-thermal pressure fraction of ∼6% and ∼10% at R500 and R200, respectively. Our values are lower than the expectations of hydrodynamical simulations, possibly implying a faster thermalization of the gas. If instead we use the mass calibration adopted by the Planck team, we find that the gas fraction of massive local systems implies a mass bias 1 − b = 0.85 ± 0.05 for Sunyaev–Zeldovich-derived masses, with some evidence for a mass-dependent bias. Conversely, the high bias required to match Planck cosmic microwave background and cluster count cosmology is excluded by the data at high significance, unless the most massive halos are missing a substantial fraction of their baryons.
Abstract
We characterized the population of galaxy clusters detected with the Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) effect with Planck by measuring the cool-core state of the objects in a well-defined subsample of ...the Planck SZ catalogue. We used as an indicator the concentration parameter. The fraction of cool-core clusters is 29 ± 4 per cent and does not show significant indications of evolution in the redshift range covered by our sample. We compare the distribution of the concentration parameter in the Planck sample with the one of the X-ray selected sample MACS: the distributions are significantly different and the cool-core fraction in MACS is much higher (59 ± 5 per cent) than that in Planck. Since X-ray-selected samples are known to be biased towards cool cores due to the presence of their prominent surface brightness peak, we simulated the impact of the ‘cool-core bias’. We found that this bias plays a large role in the difference between the fractions of cool cores in the two samples. We examined other selection effects that could in principle bias SZ surveys against cool cores, but we found that their impact is not sufficient to explain the difference between Planck and MACS. The population of X-ray underluminous objects, which are found in SZ surveys but missing in X-ray samples, could possibly contribute to the difference, as we found most of them to be non-cool cores, but this hypothesis deserves further investigation.
When steroids, such as pregnenolone, progesterone and oestrogen, are synthesised de novo in neural tissues, they are more specifically referred to as neurosteroids. These neurosteroids bind specific ...receptors to promote essential brain functions. Pregnenolone supports cognition and protects mouse hippocampal cells against glutamate and amyloid peptide‐induced cell death. Progesterone promotes myelination, spinogenesis, synaptogenesis, neuronal survival and dendritic growth. Allopregnanolone increases hippocampal neurogenesis, neuronal survival and cognitive functions. Oestrogens, such as oestradiol, regulate synaptic plasticity, reproductive behaviour, aggressive behaviour and learning. In addition, neurosteroids are neuroprotective in animal models of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, brain injury and ageing. Using in situ hybridisation and/or immunohistochemistry, steroidogenic enzymes, including cytochrome P450 side‐chain cleavage, 3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ5‐Δ4 isomerase, cytochrome P450arom, steroid 5α‐reductase and 3α‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, have been detected in numerous brain regions, including the hippocampus, hypothalamus and cerebral cortex. In the present review, we summarise some of the studies related to the synthesis and function of oestrogens and progestagens in the central nervous system.
Agrochemicals and neurogenesis Rossetti, M. Florencia; Stoker, Cora; Ramos, Jorge G.
Molecular and cellular endocrinology,
06/2020, Letnik:
510
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Agrochemicals or pesticides are compounds widely used to prevent, destroy or mitigate pests such as insects, rodents, herbs and weeds. However, most of them also act as environmental estrogens, ...anti-estrogens and/or antiandrogenic chemicals. In addition, both herbicides (such as glyphosate and paraquat) and insecticides (such as pyrethroids, organophosphates, neonicotinoids and rotenone) have been shown to exert significant adverse effects on hippocampal neurogenesis. These effects are particularly important because neurogenesis dysregulation could be associated with cognitive decline and neuropathologies such as Alzheimer's disease. This review focuses on the most commonly used agrochemicals in Argentina and their effects on the hippocampal neurogenesis of mammals. It also discusses the disruption of hormone synthesis and action as a possible mechanism through which these chemical compounds could alter the brain functions. Finally, we propose some lines of research to study the potential endocrine mechanisms involved in the effects of agrochemicals on human health and biodiversity.
•Most pesticides are not selective and cause adverse effects on the brain of mammals.•Insecticides and herbicides could act as environmental endocrine disruptors.•Pesticides cause several alterations in hippocampal neurogenesis.•Pesticides may alter neurogenesis by means of endocrine disruption.
Context. Galaxy clusters are continuously growing through the accretion of matter in their outskirts. This process induces inhomogeneities in the gas density distribution (clumping) that need to be ...taken into account to recover the physical properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) at large radii. Aims. We studied the thermodynamic properties in the outskirts (R > R500) of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 2142 by combining the Sunyaev Zel’dovich (SZ) effect with the X-ray signal. Methods. We combined the SZ pressure profile measured by Planck with the XMM-Newton gas density profile to recover radial profiles of temperature, entropy, and hydrostatic mass out to 2 × R500. We used a method that is insensitive to clumping to recover the gas density, and we compared the results with traditional X-ray measurement techniques. Results. When taking clumping into account, our joint X-SZ entropy profile is consistent with the predictions from pure gravitational collapse, whereas a significant entropy flattening is found when the effect of clumping is neglected. The hydrostatic mass profile recovered using joint X-SZ data agrees with that obtained from spectroscopic X-ray measurements and with mass reconstructions obtained through weak lensing and galaxy kinematics. Conclusions. We found that clumping can explain the entropy flattening observed by Suzaku in the outskirts of several clusters. When using a method that is insensitive to clumping for the reconstruction of the gas density, the thermodynamic properties of Abell 2142 are compatible with the assumption that the thermal gas pressure sustains gravity and that the entropy is injected at accretion shocks, with no need to evoke more exotic physics. Our results highlight the need for X-ray observations with sufficient spatial resolution, and large collecting area, to understand the processes at work in cluster outer regions.
The Paraná-Etendeka represents a major magmatic province associated with the rifting of West Gondwana and the formation of the South Atlantic Ocean. The area represents a direct analogue for similar ...aged volcanic rocks buried within hydrocarbon-rich basins offshore the South Atlantic margin. We present here a detailed integration of outcrop data with laboratory measurements of porosity, permeability, and ultrasonic acoustic velocities (P and S-waves) for volcanic and interbedded sedimentary rocks of the Paraná-Etendeka Province in southern Brazil. The lava pile is formed of compound pahoehoe basaltic lavas at the base (Torres Formation) followed by thick tabular rubbly pahoehoe basaltic andesites (Vale do Sol Formation) and the upper stratigraphy is characterized by locally fed domes and extensive tabular acidic units. Sedimentary interbeds occur throughout the entire lava pile. For the volcanic rocks petrophysical properties have a cyclic variation controlled by the lava internal structure. Lava upper and lower crusts have relatively high porosity (>10%) and low acoustic velocities, whilst lava flow cores are characterized by porosities of less than 5% and velocities typically 0.5–1.0 kms−1 higher than lava crust facies. The highest porosities are found in the upper crust of both rubbly pahoehoe (c. 28.3%) and pahoehoe lavas (c. 26.6%) where vesicles account for most of the pore space. Permeability is relatively low in the volcanic rocks (<1 mD), and this fact is associated with pore infilling during burial diagenesis/hydrothermal alteration. Sedimentary interbeds preserve relatively high porosity (>15%) and permeability (avg. 450 mD) and represent the best reservoir rocks within the Paraná-Etendeka Province. Nevertheless, where diagenesis is intense porosity and permeability are significantly diminished. The petrophysical properties of volcanic rocks are controlled primarily by lava emplacement mechanisms (e.g. inflation, degassing and flow fragmentation), and secondarily by bulk mineral composition. Petrophysical properties can be further modified by diagenetic and hydrothermal alteration processes. Understanding the interplay between primary and secondary processes on the final petrophysical characteristics of the rocks is key for defining reservoir properties in offshore areas, such as the North and South Atlantic margins, where volcanic rocks are intrinsically associated with prolific hydrocarbon-bearing sedimentary basins.
Display omitted
•Rock properties and petrophysical aspects of the Paraná-Etendeka volcano-sequence.•Velocity-porosity relationship in different volcanic facies.•Porosity and permeability of volcanic sequences and their potential as reservoirs.•Geological controls on rock properties of volcanic and sedimentary rocks.•Comparison of outcrop analogue data with offshore volcano-sedimentary sequences.
Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are major magmatic events that have a significant impact on the global environment and the biosphere, for example as triggers of mass extinctions. LIPs provide an ...excellent sedimentological and geochemical record of short but intense periods of geological activity in the past, but their contribution towards understanding ancient life is much more restricted due to the destructive nature of their igneous origin. Here, we provide the first paleontological evidence for organic walled microfossils extracted from wet peperites from the Early Cretaceous Paraná-Etendeka intertrappean deposits of the Paraná basin in Brazil. Wet peperites are a volcaniclastic rock formed by the interaction of lava and subaqueous sediments.The Paraná-Etendeka was formed during the Valanginian (ca. 132 Ma) as a continental flood basalt in present day South America and Namibia, and released enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, methane and hydrogen fluoride into the atmosphere. The organic walled microfossils recovered from the Paraná-Etendeka peperites include pollen grains, spores, acritarchs, and other remains of unidentifiable organic matter. In addition to the peperites, organic walled microfossils were also found in heterolithic sandstones and interpillow sandstones. Our findings represent the first insight into the biodiversity of the Paraná Basin during the Early Cretaceous during a period of intense magmatism, and the microfossil assemblages corroborate a regional paleoclimatic transition from arid to more humid conditions that were likely induced by the volcanic activity. We corroborate the potential of wet peperite rocks as a valuable source of paleobiological data and emphasize the importance of sampling volcaniclastic units that have been traditionally considered with lower fossiliferous potential due to their igneous origin.
We want to characterize the dynamical state of galaxy clusters detected with the Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) effect by Planck and compare them with the dynamical state of clusters selected in X-rays ...survey. We analysed a representative subsample of the Planck SZ catalogue, containing the 132 clusters with the highest signal to noise ratio and characterize their dynamical state using as an indicator the projected offset between the peak of the X-ray emission and the position of the Brightest cluster galaxy. We compare the distribution of this indicator for the Planck SZ-selected sample and three X-ray-selected samples (HIFLUGCS, MACS and REXCESS). The distributions are significantly different and the fraction of relaxed objects is smaller in the Planck sample (52 ± 4 per cent) than in X-ray samples (≃74 per cent) We interpret this result as an indication of different selection effects affecting X-rays (e.g. ‘cool core bias’) and SZ surveys of galaxy clusters.
PDF
