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In this paper, we present a new method to select the faint, background galaxies used to derive the mass of galaxy clusters by weak lensing. The method is based on the simultaneous analysis of the shear signal, that should be consistent with zero for the foreground, unlensed galaxies, and of the colours of the galaxies: photometric data from the COSMic evOlution Survey are used to train the colour selection. In order to validate this methodology, we test it against a set of state-of-the-art image simulations of mock galaxy clusters in different redshift [0.23-0.45] and mass [0.5-1.55 × 1015 M⊙] ranges, mimicking medium-deep multicolour imaging observations [e.g. Subaru, Large Binocular Telescope]. The performance of our method in terms of contamination by unlensed sources is comparable to a selection based on photometric redshifts, which however requires a good spectral coverage and is thus much more observationally demanding. The application of our method to simulations gives an average ratio between estimated and true masses of ∼0.98 ± 0.09. As a further test, we finally apply our method to real data, and compare our results with other weak-lensing mass estimates in the literature: for this purpose, we choose the cluster Abell 2219 (z = 0.228), for which multiband (BVRi) data are publicly available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a mass estimate of the Planck-discovered cluster PLCK G100.2-30.4, derived from a weak lensing analysis of deep Subaru griz images. We perform a careful selection of the background galaxies using the multi-band imaging data, and undertake the weak lensing analysis on the deep (1 h) r-band image. The shape measurement is based on the Kaiser-Squires-Broadhurst algorithm; we adopt the PSFex software to model the point spread function (PSF) across the field and correct for this in the shape measurement. The weak lensing analysis is validated through extensive image simulations. We compare the resulting weak lensing mass profile and total mass estimate to those obtained from our re-analysis of XMM-Newton observations, derived under the hypothesis of hydrostatic equilibrium. The total integrated mass profiles agree remarkably well, within 1σ across their common radial range. A mass M500 ∼ 7 × 1014 M☉ is derived for the cluster from our weak lensing analysis. Comparing this value to that obtained from our reanalysis of XMM-Newton data, we obtain a bias factor of (1-b) = 0.8 ± 0.1. This is compatible within 1σ with the value of (1-b) obtained in Planck 2015 from the calibration of the bias factor using newly available weak lensing reconstructed masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Euclid space mission will cover over 14 000 deg2 with two optical and near-infrared spectro-photometric instruments, and is expected to detect around ten million active galactic nuclei (AGN). This unique data set will make a considerable impact on our understanding of galaxy evolution in general, and AGN in particular. For this work we identified the best colour selection criteria for AGN, based only on Euclid photometry or including ancillary photometric observations, such as the data that will be available with the Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) and observations already available from Spitzer/IRAC. The analysis was performed for unobscured AGN, obscured AGN, and composite (AGN and star-forming) objects. We made use of the spectro-photometric realisations of infrared-selected targets at all-z (SPRITZ) to create mock catalogues mimicking both the Euclid Wide Survey (EWS) and the Euclid Deep Survey (EDS). Using these mock catalogues, we estimated the best colour selection, maximising the harmonic mean (F1) of: (a) completeness, that is, the fraction of AGN correctly selected with respect to the total AGN sample; and (b) purity, that is, the fraction of AGN inside the selection with respect to the selected sample. The selection of unobscured AGN in both Euclid surveys (Wide and Deep) is possible with Euclid photometry alone with F1 = 0.22–0.23 (Wide and Deep), which can increase to F1 = 0.43–0.38 (Wide and Deep) if we limit out study to objects at z > 0.7. Such a selection is improved once the Rubin/LSST filters, that is, a combination of the u, g, r, or z filters, are considered, reaching an F1 score of 0.84 and 0.86 for the EDS and EWS, respectively. The combination of a Euclid colour with the [3.6]−[4.5] colour, which is possible only in the EDS, results in an F1 score of 0.59, improving the results using only Euclid filters, but worse than the selection combining Euclid and LSST colours. The selection of composite (fAGN = 0.05–0.65 at 8–40 μm) and obscured AGN is challenging, with F1 ≤ 0.3 even when including Rubin/LSST or IRAC filters. This is unsurprising since it is driven by the similarities between the broad-band spectral energy distribution of these AGN and star-forming galaxies in the wavelength range 0.3–5 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. We derived galaxy colour selections from Euclid and ground-based photometry, aiming to accurately define background galaxy samples in cluster weak-lensing analyses. These selections have been implemented in the Euclid data analysis pipelines for galaxy clusters. Methods. Given any set of photometric bands, we developed a method for the calibration of optimal galaxy colour selections that maximises the selection completeness, given a threshold on purity. Such colour selections are expressed as a function of the lens redshift. Results. We calibrated galaxy selections using simulated ground-based griz and EuclidYEJEHE photometry. Both selections produce a purity higher than 97%. The griz selection completeness ranges from 30% to 84% in the lens redshift range zl ∈ [0.2, 0.8]. With the full grizYEJEHE selection, the completeness improves by up to 25 percentage points, and the zl range extends up to zl = 1.5. The calibrated colour selections are stable to changes in the sample limiting magnitudes and redshift, and the selection based on griz bands provides excellent results on real external datasets. Furthermore, the calibrated selections provide stable results using alternative photometric aperture definitions obtained from different ground-based telescopes. The griz selection is also purer at high redshift and more complete at low redshift compared to colour selections found in the literature. We find excellent agreement in terms of purity and completeness between the analysis of an independent, simulated Euclid galaxy catalogue and our calibration sample, except for galaxies at high redshifts, for which we obtain up to 50 percentage points higher completeness. The combination of colour and photo-z selections applied to simulated Euclid data yields up to 95% completeness, while the purity decreases down to 92% at high zl. We show that the calibrated colour selections provide robust results even when observations from a single band are missing from the ground-based data. Finally, we show that colour selections do not disrupt the shear calibration for stage III surveys. The first Euclid data releases will provide further insights into the impact of background selections on the shear calibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the third data release of the INvestigating Stellar Population In RElics (INSPIRE) project, comprising 52 ultra-compact massive galaxies (UCMGs) observed with the X-Shooter spectrograph. We measure integrated stellar velocity dispersion, [Mg/Fe] abundances, ages, and metallicities for all the INSPIRE objects. We thus infer star formation histories and confirm the existence of a degree of relicness (DoR), defined in terms of the fraction of stellar mass formed by z  = 2, the time at which a galaxy has assembled 75 per cent of its mass, and the final assembly time. Objects with a high DoR assembled their stellar mass at early epochs, while low-DoR objects show a non-negligible fraction of later formed populations and hence a spread in ages and metallicities. A higher DoR correlates with larger [Mg/Fe], supersolar metallicity, and larger velocity dispersion values. The 52 UMCGs span a large range of DoR from 0.83 to 0.06, with 38 of them having formed more than 75  per cent of their mass by z  = 2. Of these, nine are extreme relics (DoR>0.7), since they formed the totality (⁠|$\gt 99~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$|⁠) of their stellar mass by redshift z  = 2. The remaining 14 UCMGs cannot be considered relics, as they are characterized by more extended star formation histories. With INSPIRE  we built the first sizeable sample of relics outside the local Universe, up to z ∼ 0.4, increasing the number of confirmed relics by a factor of >10, and opening up an important window to explain the mass assembly of massive galaxies in the high- z Universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the tomographic clustering properties of the photometric cluster catalogue derived from the third data release of the Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS), focusing on the angular correlation function and its spherical harmonic counterpart: the angular power spectrum. We measured the angular correlation function and power spectrum from a sample of 5162 clusters, with an intrinsic richness of λ* ≥ 15, in the photometric redshift range of z ∈ [0.1, 0.6]. We compared our measurements with theoretical models, within the framework of the Λ cold dark matter cosmology. We performed a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis to constrain the cosmological parameters, Ωm and σ8, as well as the structure growth parameter, S8 ≡ σ8√Ωm/0.3. We adopted Gaussian priors on the parameters of the mass-richness relation, based on the posterior distributions derived from a previous joint analysis of cluster counts and weak-lensing mass measurements carried out on the basis of the same catalogue. From the angular correlation function, we obtained Ωm = 0.32−0.04+0.05, σ8 = 0.77−0.09+0.13, and S8 = 0.80−0.06+0.08, which are in agreement, within 1σ, with the 3D clustering result based on the same cluster sample and with existing complementary studies on other data sets. For the angular power spectrum, we checked the validity of the Poissonian shot noise approximation, also considering the mode-mode coupling induced by the mask. We derived statistically consistent results, in particular, Ωm = 0.24−0.04+0.05 and S8 = 0.93−0.12+0.11; while the constraint on σ8 alone is weaker with respect to the one provided by the angular correlation function, σ8 = 1.01−0.17+0.25. Our results show that the 2D clustering from photometric cluster surveys can provide competitive cosmological constraints with respect to the full 3D clustering statistics. We also demonstrate that they can be successfully applied to ongoing and forthcoming spectrometric and photometric surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There currently exists an inadequate understanding of the transcriptional dysregulation that differentiates Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) from normal breast epithelium. Currently, a popular comparator in gene expression studies is to use normal tissue adjacent to the primary tumor. Using RNA-seq data of TNBCs and donated microdissected normal breast epithelium from our institution combined with TNBCs and adjacent normal tissues from the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we sought to determine the differential regulation of genes between TNBC compared to normal breast epithelium and adjacent normal tissues. Methods: Normal breast tissues from healthy pre-menopausal volunteers with no history of disease were procured from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center. To eliminate bias from stromal tissue, normal tissues were laser capture microdissected for ductal epithelium. RNA from 20 microdissected normal breast tissues and 10 TNBCs from our institution were sequenced on a Life Technologies SOLiD sequencer. This data was combined with RNA-seq data from an additional 77 TNBCs and 10 adjacent normal tissues from the TCGA Data Portal. The merged gene expression values (RPKM) were quantile normalized, batch effect corrected, and submitted for differential gene expression analysis using Partek Genomics Suite. Differentially expressed genes were statistically determined with cutoffs of FDR<5% and Fold Change>±2. Pathway and network analyses utilized Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Results: Principal components analysis (PCA) of all expressed protein coding genes revealed a close association of adjacent normal tissues to TNBCs whereas microdissected normal breast tissues were starkly separated. In comparing these 3 tissue types, 3841 genes were differentially expressed between TNBC vs. donated microdissected normal of which 1627 genes were also differentially expressed between adjacent normal vs. donated microdissected normal. The PCA along with the differential expression support the notion that adjacent normal gene expression is strongly influenced by the primary tumor, and in a significant set of genes, adjacent normal gene expression mimics the expression of primary tumors. The differential gene expression analysis also revealed 1240 genes that were restricted solely to the TNBC vs. donated microdissected normal that were not detected when TNBCs were compared to adjacent normal tissues. Examination of these genes reveals several potential kinase drug targets, genes involved in notch signaling, metabolism, cell cycle among other key cancer pathways. Preliminary analysis of the non-coding RNA component also reveals the same pattern of dysregulation in cancer associated microRNAs and lincRNAs. Conclusions: Gene expression within adjacent normal tissues is significantly impacted by the primary tumor and donated microdissected normal breast epithelium from healthy volunteers may be an optimal comparator for use in next-generation RNA sequencing breast cancer studies. Use of this comparator may identify therapeutic targets that would not otherwise be detected when using adjacent normal tissue as controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We constrain the ΛCDM cosmological parameter σ8 by applying the extreme value statistics for galaxy cluster mass on the AMICO KiDS-DR3 catalogue. We sample the posterior distribution of the parameters by considering the likelihood of observing the largest cluster mass value in a sample of N obs = 3644 clusters with intrinsic richness λ* > 20 in the redshift range z ∈ [0.10, 0.60]. We obtain |$\sigma _{8}=0.90_{-0.18}^{+0.20}$|⁠ , consistent within 1σ with the measurements obtained by the Planck collaboration and with previous results from cluster cosmology exploiting AMICO KiDS-DR3. The constraints could improve by applying this method to forthcoming missions, such as Euclid and LSST, which are expected to deliver thousands of distant and massive clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subnetwork analysis can explore complex patterns of entire molecular pathways for the purpose of drug target identification. In this article, the gene expression profiles of a cohort of patients with breast cancer are integrated with protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks using, simultaneously, both edge scoring and node scoring. A novel optimization algorithm, integrated optimization method to identify deregulated subnetwork (IODNE), is developed to search for the optimal dysregulated subnetwork of the merged gene and protein network. IODNE is applied to select subnetworks for Luminal-A breast cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. A large fraction of cancer-related genes and the well-known clinical targets, ER1/ PR and HER2, are found by IODNE. This validates the utility of IODNE. When applying IODNE to the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype data, we identified subnetworks that contain genes such as ERBB2, HRAS, PGR, CAD, POLE, and SLC2A1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiral galaxies undergo strong ram-pressure effects when they fall into the galaxy cluster potential. As a consequence, their gas is stripped to form extended tails within which star formation can happen, giving them the typical jellyfish appearance. The ultraviolet imaging observations of jellyfish galaxies provide an opportunity to understand ongoing star formation in the stripped tails. We report the ultraviolet observations of the jellyfish galaxies JW39, JO60, JO194 and compare with observations in optical continuum and Hα. We detect knots of star formation in the disc and tails of the galaxies and find that their UV and Hα flux are well correlated. The optical emission line ratio maps of these galaxies are used to identify for every region the emission mechanism, due to either star formation, LINER or a mix of the two phenomena. The star-forming regions in the emission line maps match very well with the regions having significant UV flux. The central regions of two galaxies (JW39, JO194) show a reduction in UV flux which coincides with composite or LINER regions in the emission line maps. The galaxies studied here demonstrate significant star formation in the stripped tails, suppressed star formation in the central regions and present a possible case of accelerated quenching happening in jellyfish galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The INvestigating Stellar Population In RElics (INSPIRE) is an ongoing project targeting 52 ultra-compact massive galaxies at 0.1 <  z <  0.5 with the X-shooter at VLT spectrograph (XSH). These objects are the ideal candidates to be 'relics', massive red nuggets that have formed at high redshift (z >  2) through a short and intense star formation burst, and then have evolved passively and undisturbed until the present day. Relics provide a unique opportunity to study the mechanisms of star formation at high-z. Aims.INSPIRE is designed to spectroscopically confirm and fully characterise a large sample of relics, computing their number density in the redshift window 0.1 <  z <  0.5 for the first time, thus providing a benchmark for cosmological galaxy formation simulations. In this paper, we present the INSPIRE Data Release (DR1), comprising 19 systems with observations completed in 2020. Methods. We use the methods already presented in the INSPIRE Pilot, but revisiting the 1D spectral extraction. For the 19 systems studied here, we obtain an estimate of the stellar velocity dispersion, fitting the two XSH arms (UVB and VIS) separately at their original spectral resolution to two spectra extracted in different ways. We estimate [Mg/Fe] abundances via line-index strength and mass-weighted integrated stellar ages and metallicities with full spectral fitting on the combined (UVB+VIS) spectrum. Results. For each system, different estimates of the velocity dispersion always agree within the errors. Spectroscopic ages are very old for 13/19 galaxies, in agreement with the photometric ones, and metallicities are almost always (18/19) super-solar, confirming the mass–metallicity relation. The [Mg/Fe] ratio is also larger than solar for the great majority of the galaxies, as expected. We find that ten objects formed more than 75% of their stellar mass (M⋆) within 3 Gyr from the big bang and classify them as relics. Among these, we identify four galaxies that had already fully assembled their M⋆ by that time and are therefore 'extreme relics' of the ancient Universe. Interestingly, relics, overall, have a larger [Mg/Fe] and a more metal-rich stellar population. They also have larger integrated velocity dispersion values compared to non-relics (both ultra-compact and normal-size) of similar stellar mass. Conclusions. The INSPIRE DR1 catalogue of ten known relics is the largest publicly available collection, augmenting the total number of confirmed relics by a factor of 3.3, and also enlarging the redshift window. The resulting lower limit for the number density of relics at 0.17 <  z <  0.39 is ρ ∼ 9.1 × 10−8 Mpc−3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report new high-quality galaxy-scale strong lens candidates found in the Kilo-Degree Survey data release 4 using machine learning. We have developed a new convolutional neural network (CNN) classifier to search for gravitational arcs, following the prescription by Petrillo et al. and using only r-band images. We have applied the CNN to two "predictive samples": a luminous red galaxy (LRG) and a "bright galaxy" (BG) sample (r < 21). We have found 286 new high-probability candidates, 133 from the LRG sample and 153 from the BG sample. We have ranked these candidates based on a value that combines the CNN likelihood of being a lens and the human score resulting from visual inspection (P-value), and here we present the highest 82 ranked candidates with P-values ≥0.5. All of these high-quality candidates have obvious arc or pointlike features around the central red defector. Moreover, we define the best 26 objects, all with P-values ≥0.7, as a "golden sample" of candidates. This sample is expected to contain very few false positives; thus, it is suitable for follow-up observations. The new lens candidates come partially from the more extended footprint adopted here with respect to the previous analyses and partially from a larger predictive sample (also including the BG sample). These results show that machine-learning tools are very promising for finding strong lenses in large surveys and more candidates can be found by enlarging the predictive samples beyond the standard assumption of LRGs. In the future, we plan to apply our CNN to the data from next-generation surveys such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, Euclid, and the Chinese Space Station Optical Survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report evidence for star formation quenching in the central 8.6 kpc region of the jellyfish galaxy JO201 that hosts an active galactic nucleus (AGN), while undergoing strong ram-pressure stripping. The ultraviolet imaging data of the galaxy disc reveal a region with reduced flux around the centre of the galaxy and a horse-shoe-shaped region with enhanced flux in the outer disc. The characterization of the ionization regions based on emission line diagnostic diagrams shows that the region of reduced flux seen in the ultraviolet is within the AGN-dominated area. The CO J2−1 map of the galaxy disc reveals a cavity in the central region. The image of the galaxy disc at redder wavelengths (9050–9250 Å) reveals the presence of a stellar bar. The star formation rate map of the galaxy disc shows that the star formation suppression in the cavity occurred in the last few 108 yr. We present several lines of evidence supporting the scenario that suppression of star formation in the central region of the disc is most likely due to the feedback from the AGN. The observations reported here make JO201 a unique case of AGN feedback and environmental effects suppressing star formation in a spiral galaxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The analysis of the variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN) at different wavelengths and the study of possible correlations of different spectral windows are a current main field of inquiry. Optical variability has been largely used to identify AGN in multivisit surveys. The strength of a selection based on optical variability lies in the opportunity of analyzing data from surveys of large sky areas by ground-based telescopes. However, the effectiveness of optical variability selection with respect to other multiwavelength techniques has been poorly studied down to the depth that is expected from next-generation surveys. Aims. Here we present the results of our r-band analysis of a sample of 299 optically variable AGN candidates in the VST survey of the COSMOS field, counting 54 visits spread over three observing seasons spanning more than three years. This dataset is more than three times larger than the dataset presented in our previous analysis, and the observing baseline is about eight times longer. Methods. We push toward deeper magnitudes (r(AB) ∼ 23.5 mag) than were reached in past studies. We made wide use of ancillary multiwavelength catalogs in order to confirm the nature of our AGN candidates, and constrained the accuracy of the method based on spectroscopic and photometric diagnostics. We also performed tests aimed at assessing the relevance of dense sampling in view of future wide-field surveys. Results. We demonstrate that the method allows the selection of high-purity (> 86%) samples. We take advantage of the longer observing baseline to achieve great improvement in the completeness of our sample with respect to X-ray and spectroscopically confirmed samples of AGN (59% vs. ∼15% in our previous work), as well as in the completeness of unobscured and obscured AGN. The effectiveness of the method confirms the importance of developing future more refined techniques for the automated analysis of larger datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the high accuracy of photometric redshifts (zphot) derived using machine learning (ML) methods, the quantification of errors through reliable and accurate probability density functions (PDFs) is still an open problem. First, because it is difficult to accurately assess the contribution from different sources of errors, namely internal to the method itself and from the photometric features defining the available parameter space. Secondly, because the problem of defining a robust statistical method, always able to quantify and qualify the PDF estimation validity, is still an open issue. We present a comparison among PDFs obtained using three different methods on the same data set: two ML techniques, METAPHOR (Machine-learning Estimation Tool for Accurate PHOtometric Redshifts) and ANNz2, plus the spectral energy distribution template-fitting method, BPZ (Bayesian photometric redshift). The photometric data were extracted from the Kilo Degree Survey ESO Data Release 3, while the spectroscopy was obtained from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly Data Release 2. The statistical evaluation of both individual and stacked PDFs was done through quantitative and qualitative estimators, including a dummy PDF, useful to verify whether different statistical estimators can correctly assess PDF quality. We conclude that, in order to quantify the reliability and accuracy of any zphot PDF method, a combined set of statistical estimators is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have obtained structural parameters of about 340 000 galaxies from the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) in 153 deg2 of data release 1, 2, and 3. We have performed a seeing convolved 2D single Sérsic fit to the galaxy images in the four photometric bands (u, g, r, i) observed by KiDS, by selecting high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N > 50) systems in every bands. We have classified galaxies as spheroids and disc-dominated by combining their spectral energy distribution properties and their Sérsic index. Using photometric redshifts derived from a machine learning technique, we have determined the evolution of the effective radius, R e and stellar mass, M ⋆, versus redshift, for both mass complete samples of spheroids and disc-dominated galaxies up to z ∼0.6. Our results show a significant evolution of the structural quantities at intermediate redshift for the massive spheroids (log  M */M⊙ > 11, Chabrier IMF), while almost no evolution has found for less massive ones (log  M */M⊙ < 11). On the other hand, disc dominated systems show a milder evolution in the less massive systems (log  M */M⊙ < 11) and possibly no evolution of the more massive systems. These trends are generally consistent with predictions from hydrodynamical simulations and independent datasets out to redshift $$z$$ ∼ 0.6, although in some cases the scatter of the data is large to drive final conclusions. These results, based on 1/10 of the expected KiDS area, reinforce precedent finding based on smaller statistical samples and show the route towards more accurate results, expected with the the next survey releases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the dark matter (DM) assembly in the central regions of massive early-type galaxies up to z ~ 0.65. We use a sample of ~3800 massive (log M*/M☉ > 11.2) galaxies with photometry and structural parameters from 156 deg2 of the Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS), and spectroscopic redshifts and velocity dispersions from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We obtain central total-to-stellar mass ratios, Mdyn/M*, and DM fractions, by determining dynamical masses, Mdyn, from Jeans modelling of SDSS aperture velocity dispersions and stellar masses, M*, from KiDS galaxy colours. We first show how the central DM fraction correlates with structural parameters, mass and density proxies, and demonstrate that most of the local correlations are still observed up to z ~ 0.65; at fixed M*, local galaxies have larger DM fraction, on average, than their counterparts at larger redshift. We also interpret these trends with a non-universal initial mass function (IMF), finding a strong evolution with redshift, which contrast independent observations and is at odds with the effect of galaxy mergers. For a fixed IMF, the galaxy assembly can be explained, realistically, by mass and size accretion, which can be physically achieved by a series of minor mergers. We reproduce both the Re-M* and Mdyn/M*-M* evolution with stellar and dark mass changing at a different rate. This result suggests that the main progenitor galaxy is merging with less massive systems, characterized by a smaller Mdyn/M*, consistently with results from halo abundance matching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abundance of compact, massive, early-type galaxies (ETGs) provides important constraints to galaxy formation scenarios. Thanks to the area covered, depth, excellent spatial resolution and seeing, the ESO Public optical Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS), carried out with the VLT Survey Telescope, offers a unique opportunity to conduct a complete census of the most compact galaxies in the Universe. This paper presents a first census of such systems from the first 156 deg2 of KiDS. Our analysis relies on g-, r- and i-band effective radii (Re), derived by fitting galaxy images with point spread function (PSF)-convolved Sérsic models, high-quality photometric redshifts, zphot, estimated from machine learning techniques, and stellar masses, M*, calculated from KiDS aperture photometry. After massiveness (M* ≳ 8 × 1010M☉) and compactness (Re ≲ 1.5 kpc in g, r and i bands) criteria are applied, a visual inspection of the candidates plus near-infrared photometry from VIKING-DR1 are used to refine our sample. The final catalogue, to be spectroscopically confirmed, consists of 92 systems in the redshift range z ~ 0.2-0.7. This sample, which we expect to increase by a factor of 10 over the total survey area, represents the first attempt to select massive supercompact ETGs (MSCGs) in KiDS. We investigate the impact of redshift systematics in the selection, finding that this seems to be a major source of contamination in our sample. A preliminary analysis shows that MSCGs exhibit negative internal colour gradients, consistent with a passive evolution of these systems. We find that the number density of MSCGs is only mildly consistent with predictions from simulations at z > 0.2, while no such system is found at z < 0.2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have estimated photometric redshifts (zphot) for more than 1.1 million galaxies of the public European Southern Observatory (ESO) Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) data release 2. KiDS is an optical wide-field imaging survey carried out with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) Survey Telescope (VST) and the OmegaCAM camera, which aims to tackle open questions in cosmology and galaxy evolution, such as the origin of dark energy and the channel of galaxy mass growth. We present a catalogue of photometric redshifts obtained using the Multi-Layer Perceptron with Quasi-Newton Algorithm (MLPQNA) model, provided within the framework of the DAta Mining and Exploration Web Application REsource (DAMEWARE). These photometric redshifts are based on a spectroscopic knowledge base that was obtained by merging spectroscopic data sets from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) data release 2 and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) data release 9. The overall 1σ uncertainty on Δz = (zspec − zphot)/(1 + zspec) is ~0.03, with a very small average bias of ~0.001, a normalized median absolute deviation of ~0.02 and a fraction of catastrophic outliers (|Δz| > 0.15) of ~0.4 per cent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. One of the most peculiar characteristics of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is their variability over all wavelengths. This property has been used in the past to select AGN samples and is foreseen to be one of the detection techniques applied in future multi-epoch surveys, complementing photometric and spectroscopic methods. Aims. In this paper, we aim to construct and characterise an AGN sample using a multi-epoch dataset in the r band from the SUDAREVOICE survey. Methods. Our work makes use of the VST monitoring programme of an area surrounding the Chandra Deep Field South to select variable sources. We use data spanning a six-month period over an area of 2 square degrees, to identify AGN based on their photometric variability. Results. The selected sample includes 175 AGN candidates with magnitude r < 23 mag. We distinguish different classes of variable sources through their lightcurves, as well as X-ray, spectroscopic, SED, optical, and IR information overlapping with our survey. Conclusions. We find that 12% of the sample (21/175) is represented by supernovae (SN). Of the remaining sources, 4% (6/154) are stars, while 66% (102/154) are likely AGNs based on the available diagnostics. We estimate an upper limit to the contamination of the variability selected AGN sample ≃34%, but we point out that restricting the analysis to the sources with available multi-wavelength ancillary information, the purity of our sample is close to 80% (102 AGN out of 128 non-SN sources with multi-wavelength diagnostics). Our work thus confirms the efficiency of the variability selection method, in agreement with our previous work on the COSMOS field. In addition we show that the variability approach is roughly consistent with the infrared selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Active galaxies are characterized by variability at every wavelength, with timescales from hours to years depending on the observing window. Optical variability has proven to be an effective way of detecting AGNs in imaging surveys, lasting from weeks to years. Aims. In the present work we test the use of optical variability as a tool to identify active galactic nuclei in the VST multiepoch survey of the COSMOS field, originally tailored to detect supernova events. Methods. We make use of the multiwavelength data provided by other COSMOS surveys to discuss the reliability of the method and the nature of our AGN candidates. Results. The selection on the basis of optical variability returns a sample of 83 AGN candidates; based on a number of diagnostics, we conclude that 67 of them are confirmed AGNs (81% purity), 12 are classified as supernovae, while the nature of the remaining 4 is unknown. For the subsample of AGNs with some spectroscopic classification, we find that Type 1 are prevalent (89%) compared to Type 2 AGNs (11%). Overall, our approach is able to retrieve on average 15% of all AGNs in the field identified by means of spectroscopic or X-ray classification, with a strong dependence on the source apparent magnitude (completeness ranging from 26% to 5%). In particular, the completeness for Type 1 AGNs is 25%, while it drops to 6% for Type 2 AGNs. The rest of the X-ray selected AGN population presents on average a larger rms variability than the bulk of non-variable sources, indicating that variability detection for at least some of these objects is prevented only by the photometric accuracy of the data. The low completeness is in part due to the short observing span: we show that increasing the temporal baseline results in larger samples as expected for sources with a red-noise power spectrum. Our results allow us to assess the usefulness of this AGN selection technique in view of future wide-field surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Bevacizumab has broad anti-tumour activity, but substantial risk of hypertension. No reliable markers are available for predicting bevacizumab-induced hypertension.Methods:A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed in the phase III bevacizumab-based adjuvant breast cancer trial, ECOG-5103, to evaluate for an association between genotypes and hypertension. GWAS was conducted in those who had experienced systolic blood pressure (SBP) >160 mm Hg during therapy using binary analysis and a cumulative dose model for the total exposure of bevacizumab. Common toxicity criteria (CTC) grade 3-5 hypertension was also assessed. Candidate SNP validation was performed in the randomised phase III trial, ECOG-2100.Results:When using the phenotype of SBP>160 mm Hg, the most significant association in SV2C (rs6453204) approached and met genome-wide significance in the binary model (P=6.0 × 10−8; OR=3.3) and in the cumulative dose model (P=4.7 × 10−8; HR=2.2), respectively. Similar associations with rs6453204 were seen for CTC grade 3-5 hypertension but did not meet genome-wide significance. Validation study from ECOG-2100 demonstrated a statistically significant association between this SNP and grade 3/4 hypertension using the binary model (P-value=0.037; OR=2.4).Conclusions:A genetic variant in SV2C predicted clinically relevant bevacizumab-induced hypertension in two independent, randomised phase III trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many tumors exhibit elevated chromosome mis-segregation termed chromosome instability (CIN), which is likely to be a potent driver of tumor progression and drug resistance. Causes of CIN are poorly understood but probably include prior genome tetraploidization, centrosome amplification and mitotic checkpoint defects. This study identifies epigenetic alteration of the centromere as a potential contributor to the CIN phenotype. The centromere controls chromosome segregation and consists of higher-order repeat (HOR) alpha-satellite DNA packaged into two chromatin domains: the kinetochore, harboring the centromere-specific H3 variant centromere protein A (CENP-A), and the pericentromeric heterochromatin, considered important for cohesion. Perturbation of centromeric chromatin in model systems causes CIN. As cancer cells exhibit widespread chromatin changes, we hypothesized that pericentromeric chromatin structure could also be affected, contributing to CIN. Cytological and chromatin immunoprecipitation and PCR (ChIP-PCR)-based analyses of HT1080 cancer cells showed that only one of the two HORs on chromosomes 5 and 7 incorporate CENP-A, an organization conserved in all normal and cancer-derived cells examined. Contrastingly, the heterochromatin marker H3K9me3 (trimethylation of H3 lysine 9) mapped to all four HORs and ChIP-PCR showed an altered pattern of H3K9me3 in cancer cell lines and breast tumors, consistent with a reduction on the kinetochore-forming HORs. The JMJD2B demethylase is overexpressed in breast tumors with a CIN phenotype, and overexpression of exogenous JMJD2B in cultured breast epithelial cells caused loss of centromere-associated H3K9me3 and increased CIN. These findings suggest that impaired maintenance of pericentromeric heterochromatin may contribute to CIN in cancer and be a novel therapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a comparison between weak-lensing and x-ray mass estimates of a sample of numerically simulated clusters. The sample consists of the 20 most massive objects at redshift z = 0.25 and Mvir > 5×1014M h-1. They were found in a cosmological simulation of volume 1 h-3 Gpc3, evolved in the framework of a WMAP-7 normalized cosmology. Each cluster has been resimulated at higher resolution and with more complex gas physics. We processed it through Skylens and X-MAS to generate optical and x-ray mock observations along three orthogonal projections. The final sample consists of 60 cluster realizations. The optical simulations include lensing effects on background sources. Standard observational tools and methods of analysis are used to recover the mass profiles of each cluster projection from the mock catalogue. The resulting mass profiles from lensing and x-ray are individually compared to the input mass distributions. Given the size of our sample, we could also investigate the dependence of the results on cluster morphology, environment, temperature inhomogeneity and mass. We confirm previous results showing that lensing masses obtained from the fit of the cluster tangential shear profiles with Navarro-Frenk-White functionals are biased low by ~5-10% with a large scatter (~0-25%). We show that scatter could be reduced by optimally selecting clusters either having regular morphology or living in substructure-poor environment. The x-ray masses are biased low by a large amount (~25-35%), evidencing the presence of both non-thermal sources of pressure in the intra-cluster medium (ICM) and temperature inhomogeneity, but they show a significantly lower scatter than weak-lensing-derived masses. The x-ray mass bias grows from the inner to the outer regions of the clusters. We find that both biases are weakly correlated with the third-order power ratio, while a stronger correlation exists with the centroid shift. Finally, the x-ray bias is strongly connected with temperature inhomogeneities. Comparison with a previous analysis of simulations leads to the conclusion that the values of x-ray mass bias from simulations are still uncertain, showing dependences on the ICM physical treatment and, possibly, on the hydrodynamical scheme adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genes that encode for CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 are located in the same region (CYP3A cluster) on chromosome 7. Midazolam (MDZ) is a substrate for both CYP3A4 and CYP3A5. We hypothesize that MDZ disposition in vivo is associated with genotypes of the CYP3A cluster. A meta-analysis of the pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters from seven clinical trials was carried out, in which MDZ was administered both intravenously and orally. DNA samples were available from 116 patients. There were significant ethnic differences in the allelic frequencies of these four common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CYP3A cluster. Significant linkage disequilibrium was found between CYP3A5*3 and CYP3A4*1A in Caucasians, and between CYP3A5*1 and CYP3A4*1B in African Americans. There were no differences in MDZ disposition in vivo between different genotypes, haplotypes and diplotypes in the CYP3A cluster (P>0.05). No significant differences in MDZ PK parameters were observed between Caucasians and African Americans. Women had higher weight-corrected systemic and oral clearance than men, but dose-adjusted AUC and bioavailability differences were not observed between sexes. The clinical importance of elevated CYP3A activity in women remains to be determined. The rGC's of MDZ PK parameters were between 0.3 and 13.6%. In conclusion, the meta-analysis of seven studies suggests that environmental factors explain the majority of CYP3A activity variation. Further studies are necessary to define the functional significance of SNPs in the CYP3A cluster and the effects of CYP3A genotypes on MDZ disposition in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The Capodimonte–Sternberg–Lens candidate no. 1 is an extragalactic double source detected in the Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte – Deep Field. It can be interpreted either as the chance alignment of two identical galaxies at z= 0.46 or as the first case of gravitational lensing by a cosmic string. Extensive modelling shows in fact that cosmic strings are the only type of lens which (at least at low angular resolution) can produce undistorted double images of a background source. We propose an experimentum crucis to disentangle these two possible explanations. If the lensing by a cosmic string should be confirmed, it would provide the first measurements of energy scale of symmetry breaking and of the energy scale of grand unified theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gene expression data from pancreatic cancer, histologically normal tissue adjacent to the cancer and normal pancreas reveals that adjacent normal has already acquired a number of transcriptional alterations and is not, therefore, an appropriate baseline for comparison with cancers. (Gadaleta et al., 2011) The purpose of this study was to determine if this is also the case for breast cancer and, if so, to identify the differences in gene expression between adjacent normal and normal breast. Methods: RNA-Seq data from breast cancer and adjacent normal was downloaded from the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) data portal. The epithelia from 20 frozen tissue cores from healthy premenopausal donors to the Susan G. Komen for the the Cure® Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center were microdissected and the RNA isolated. RNA-seqeuncing was carried out using the Life Technologies SOLiD Platform. RPKM gene expression values from TCGA and sequencing of the Komen normal tissues were merged, quantile normalized, and batch effect corrected. Normalization and differential gene expression was performed using Partek Genomics Suite. Results: Principal component analysis (PCA) reveals complete separation between adjacent normal and healthy normal breast tissue. Setting a maximum FDR (false discover rate) of 5%, 2239 genes are differentially expressed between adjacent normal and healthy normal. Ingenuity pathway analysis reveals that the Fos, Jun and TGFbeta pathways are active in the adjacent normal. Conclusions: Tissue adjacent to a primary breast cancer is not normal when using healthy breast tissue as a comparator. As RNA-Seq data is digital, it is possible to quantify the changes in gene expression starting from healthy normal to normal adjacent to tumor to tumor. Increasing and decreasing gene expression values provide clues to the fundamental molecular changes occurring in histologically normal appearing adjacent tissue. The differences in gene expression we have identified are some of the earliest changes in breast carcinogenesis and provide insight into the etiology of this disease and, potentially, its prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]