The LAMOST Complete Spectroscopic Survey of Pointing Area (LaCoSSPAr) in the Southern Galactic Cap I. The Spectroscopic Redshift Catalog

We present a spectroscopic redshift catalog from the LAMOST Complete Spectroscopic Survey of Pointing Area (LaCoSSPAr) in the Southern Galactic Cap (SGC), which is designed to observe all sources (Galactic and extra-galactic) by using repeating observations with a limiting magnitude of $r=18.1~mag$ in two $20~deg^2$ fields. The project is mainly focusing on the completeness of LAMOST ExtraGAlactic Surveys (LEGAS) in the SGC, the deficiencies of source selection methods and the basic performance parameters of LAMOST telescope. In both fields, more than 95% of galaxies have been observed. A post-processing has been applied to LAMOST 1D spectrum to remove the majority of remaining sky background residuals. More than 10,000 spectra have been visually inspected to measure the redshift by using combinations of different emission/absorption features with uncertainty of $\sigma_{z}/(1+z)<0.001$. In total, there are 1528 redshifts (623 absorption and 905 emission line galaxies) in Field A and 1570 redshifts (569 absorption and 1001 emission line galaxies) in Field B have been measured. The results show that it is possible to derive redshift from low SNR galaxies with our post-processing and visual inspection. Our analysis also indicates that up to 1/4 of the input targets for a typical extra-galactic spectroscopic survey might be unreliable. The multi-wavelength data analysis shows that the majority of mid-infrared-detected absorption (91.3%) and emission line galaxies (93.3%) can be well separated by an empirical criterion of $W2-W3=2.4$. Meanwhile, a fainter sequence paralleled to the main population of galaxies has been witnessed both in $M_r$/$W2-W3$ and $M_*$/$W2-W3$ diagrams, which could be the population of luminous dwarf galaxies but contaminated by the edge-on/highly inclined galaxies ($\sim30\%$).Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, 2 MRT, accepted by ApJ

The CDEX-1 1 kg Point-Contact Germanium Detector for Low Mass Dark Matter Searches

The CDEX Collaboration has been established for direct detection of light dark matter particles, using ultra-low energy threshold p-type point-contact germanium detectors, in China JinPing underground Laboratory (CJPL). The first 1 kg point-contact germanium detector with a sub-keV energy threshold has been tested in a passive shielding system located in CJPL. The outputs from both the point-contact p+ electrode and the outside n+ electrode make it possible to scan the lower energy range of less than 1 keV and at the same time to detect the higher energy range up to 3 MeV. The outputs from both p+ and n+ electrode may also provide a more powerful method for signal discrimination for dark matter experiment. Some key parameters, including energy resolution, dead time, decay times of internal X-rays, and system stability, have been tested and measured. The results show that the 1 kg point-contact germanium detector, together with its shielding system and electronics, can run smoothly with good performances. This detector system will be deployed for dark matter search experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure

Therapeutic effects of ciprofloxacin/bushenhuazhuo combination on chronic prostatitis

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical effect of bushenhuazhuo (a Chinese traditional medicine) in combination with ciprofloxacin (an orthodox medicine) in chronic prostatitis (CP) therapy.Methods: A total of 160 patients who suffered from CP and received treatment in the People’s Hospital of Zhengzhou between April 2012 and June 2014 were selected and divided randomly into treatment and control groups, with 80 patients in each group. Control group was given 0.25 g ciprofloxacin hydrochloride tablets twice a day for 4 weeks. In addition to ciprofloxacin administration, patients in the treatment group also received a dose of bushenhuazhuo preparation twice daily for 4 weeks. Clinical outcomes, quality of life as well as lecithin body and white blood cell (WBC) count in expressed prostatic secretions (EPS-WBC) were evaluated.Results: Cure rates in the treatment and control groups were 90 and 72.50 %, respectively; this difference was significant (p &lt; 0.05). Scores for National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), WBC, and lecithin bodies in the treatment group (8.20 ± 2.20 points, 4.50 ± 1.20 points, and 28.10 ± 2.10 points, respectively) were higher (p &lt; 0.05) than for the control group (12.20 ± 2.20, 6.30 ± 2.20, and 23.30 ± 2.90 points, respectively). The levels of interferon (IFN)-γ and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the treatment group (26.20 ± 3.30 and 33.80 ± 5.40 mg/L, respectively) were lower than those in the control group (37.70 ± 3.90 and 48.40 ± 3.70 mg/L, respectively), whereas the level of interleukin (IL)-10 in the treatment group (292.60 ± 23.70 mg/L) was higher (p &lt; 0.05) than that in control group (235.80 ± 25.90 mg/L).Conclusion: Ciprofloxacin combined with the Chinese traditional medicine, bushenhuazhuo preparation, demonstrates a marked therapeutic effect in CP. Its mechanism of action may be related to decreased levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α and increased IL-10.Keywords: Bushenhuazhuo, Interferon – γ, Ciprofloxacin, Chronic prostatitis symptom inde

Automatic Determination of Stellar Atmospheric Parameters and Construction of Stellar Spectral Templates of the Guoshoujing Telescope (LAMOST)

A number of spectroscopic surveys have been carried out or are planned to study the origin of the Milky Way. Their exploitation requires reliable automated methods and softwares to measure the fundamental parameters of the stars. Adopting the ULySS package, we have tested the effect of different resolutions and signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) on the measurement of the stellar atmospheric parameters (effective temperature Teff, surface gravity log g, and metallicity [Fe/H]). We show that ULySS is reliable to determine these parameters with medium-resolution spectra (R~2000). Then, we applied the method to measure the parameters of 771 stars selected in the commissioning database of the Guoshoujing Telescope (GSJT). The results were compared with the SDSS/SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline (SSPP), and we derived precisions of 167 K, 0.34 dex, and 0.16 dex for Teff, log g and [Fe/H] respectively. Furthermore, 120 of these stars are selected to construct the primary stellar spectra template library (Version 1.0) of GSJT, and will be deployed as basic ingredients for the GSJT automated parametrization pipeline.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures, accepted by RA

The LAMOST Survey of Background Quasars in the Vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies -- II. Results from the Commissioning Observations and the Pilot Surveys

We present new quasars discovered in the vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies with the LAMOST during the 2010 and 2011 observational seasons. Quasar candidates are selected based on the available SDSS, KPNO 4 m telescope, XSTPS optical, and WISE near infrared photometric data. We present 509 new quasars discovered in a stripe of ~135 sq. deg from M31 to M33 along the Giant Stellar Stream in the 2011 pilot survey datasets, and also 17 new quasars discovered in an area of ~100 sq. deg that covers the central region and the southeastern halo of M31 in the 2010 commissioning datasets. These 526 new quasars have i magnitudes ranging from 15.5 to 20.0, redshifts from 0.1 to 3.2. They represent a significant increase of the number of identified quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33. There are now 26, 62 and 139 known quasars in this region of the sky with i magnitudes brighter than 17.0, 17.5 and 18.0 respectively, of which 5, 20 and 75 are newly-discovered. These bright quasars provide an invaluable collection with which to probe the kinematics and chemistry of the ISM/IGM in the Local Group of galaxies. A total of 93 quasars are now known with locations within 2.5 deg of M31, of which 73 are newly discovered. Tens of quasars are now known to be located behind the Giant Stellar Stream, and hundreds behind the extended halo and its associated substructures of M31. The much enlarged sample of known quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33 can potentially be utilized to construct a perfect astrometric reference frame to measure the minute PMs of M31 and M33, along with the PMs of substructures associated with the Local Group of galaxies. Those PMs are some of the most fundamental properties of the Local Group.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, AJ accepte