Understanding Shape and Centroid Deviations in 39 Strong Lensing Galaxy Clusters in Various Dynamical States

Through observational tests of strong lensing galaxy clusters, we can test simulation derived structure predictions that follow from $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter ($\Lambda$CDM) cosmology. The shape and centroid deviations between the total matter distribution, stellar matter distributions, and hot intracluster gas distribution serve as an observational test of these theoretical structure predictions. We measure the position angles, ellipticities, and locations/centroids of the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG), intracluster light (ICL), the hot intracluster medium (ICM), and the core lensing mass for a sample of strong lensing galaxy clusters from the SDSS Giant Arcs Survey (SGAS). We utilize HST WFC3/IR imaging data to measure the shapes/centroids of the ICL and BCG distributions and use Chandra ACIS-I X-ray data to measure the shapes/centroids of ICM. Additionally, we measure the concentration parameter c and asymmetry parameter A to incorporate cluster dynamical state into our analysis. Using this multicomponent approach, we attempt to constrain the astrophysics of our strong lensing cluster sample and evaluate the different components in terms of their ability to trace out the DM halo of clusters in various dynamical states.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Proc. of the mm Universe 2023 conference, Grenoble (France), June 2023, published by F. Mayet et al. (Eds), EPJ Web of conferences, EDP Science

Novel Block Diagonalization for Reducing Features and Computations in Medical Diagnosis

Author's accepted manuscript.Available from 28/11/2021.acceptedVersio

TEMPLATES: A Robust Outlier Rejection Method for JWST/NIRSpec Integral Field Spectroscopy

We describe a custom outlier rejection algorithm for JWST/NIRSpec integral field spectroscopy. This method uses a layered sigma clipping approach that adapts clipping thresholds based upon the spatial profile of the science target. We find that this algorithm produces a robust outlier rejection while simultaneously preserving the signal of the science target. Originally developed as a response to unsatisfactory initial performance of the jwst pipeline outlier detection step, this method works either as a standalone solution, or as a supplement to the current pipeline software. Comparing leftover (i.e., not flagged) artifacts with the current pipeline's outlier detection step, we find that our method results in one fifth as many residual artifacts as the jwst pipeline. However, we find a combination of both methods removes nearly all artifacts -- an approach that takes advantage of both our algorithm's robust outlier rejection and the pipeline's use of individual dithers. This combined approach is what the TEMPLATES Early Release Science team has converged upon for our NIRSpec observations. Finally, we publicly release the code and Jupyter notebooks for the custom outlier rejection algorithm.Comment: 10 pages, including 5 figures. Submitted to the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (PASP). Code associated with paper released at https://github.com/aibhleog/baryon-swee

Mucus Plugs and Emphysema in the Pathophysiology of Airflow Obstruction and Hypoxemia in Smokers.

Rationale: The relative roles of mucus plugs and emphysema in mechanisms of airflow limitation and hypoxemia in smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are uncertain.Objectives: To relate image-based measures of mucus plugs and emphysema to measures of airflow obstruction and oxygenation in patients with COPD.Methods: We analyzed computed tomographic (CT) lung images and lung function in participants in the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study. Radiologists scored mucus plugs on CT lung images, and imaging software automatically quantified emphysema percentage. Unadjusted and adjusted relationships between mucus plug score, emphysema percentage, and lung function were determined using regression.Measurements and Main Results: Among 400 smokers, 229 (57%) had mucus plugs and 207 (52%) had emphysema, and subgroups could be identified with mucus-dominant and emphysema-dominant disease. Only 33% of smokers with high mucus plug scores had mucus symptoms. Mucus plug score and emphysema percentage were independently associated with lower values for FEV1 and peripheral oxygen saturation (P < 0.001). The relationships between mucus plug score and lung function outcomes were strongest in smokers with limited emphysema (P < 0.001). Compared with smokers with low mucus plug scores, those with high scores had worse COPD Assessment Test scores (17.4 ± 7.7 vs. 14.4 ± 13.3), more frequent annual exacerbations (0.75 ± 1.1 vs. 0.43 ± 0.85), and shorter 6-minute-walk distance (329 ± 115 vs. 392 ± 117 m) (P < 0.001).Conclusions: Symptomatically silent mucus plugs are highly prevalent in smokers and independently associate with lung function outcomes. These data provide rationale for targeting patients with mucus-high/emphysema-low COPD in clinical trials of mucoactive treatments.Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01969344)