bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Maternal and Fetal Outcomes Following Cesarean Section in Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care Program at Nuwakot District Hospital
Authors: Bhandari BR
Published: January 2016

Aims: This study was conducted to assess the fetal and maternal outcomes following cesarean section in Trishuli District Hospital at Nuwakot, NepalMethods: A hospital based study was conducted in Trishuli District Hospital Nuwakot from 14th March 2012 to 13th March 2013 among 327 pregnant women who underwent cesarean section in Trishuli District Hospital Nuwakot and met the inclusion criteria of this study.Results: The most common indication of caesarean section was (n=139, 42.6%) foetal distress (n=98, 30% moderate to thick meconium stained liquor; n=41, 12.6% foetal tachybradycardia). Among maternal complications, wound infections was seen in seven (2.1%) pregnant women, uterine rupture in two (0.6%), post partum haemorrhage in one (0.3%), post partum eclampsia in one (0.3%) and peurperial pyrexia in one (0.3%). Among perinatal complications, birth asphyxia was present in 10 (3%) neonates, neonatal sepsis in seven (2%) and perinatal death in 12 (3.5%) neonates.Conclusions: Better BEmOC reduced the number of CEmOC requirement. Providing CEmOC in district level is the vital measure in safe motherhood for reducing maternal and perinatal morbidities and mortalities. But for improving maternal and perinatal outcomes in district level, there should be adequate skilled manpower in maternity ward and operation theature, adequate infrastructures in preoperative, operative and postoperative wards, blood bank and neonatal high dependency unit in CEmOC.
Outcome of Medical versus Surgical Methods in Second Trimester Abortion
Authors: Lama S , Chherty S
Published: January 2016

Aims: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of medical versus the surgical methods and to determine the outcome of both the methods with respect to complications like incomplete abortion, bleeding and sepsis.Methods:  This study was conducted at BP Koirala Institue of Health Sciences.  Total of 80 patients, 40 in each group were enrolled in the study.  For medical abortion group, Mifepristone 200mg orally followed by Misoprostol 400 mcg vaginally were given until the patient expelled the fetus.  In surgical group, cervical priming was done with Misoprostol followed by dilatation and evacuation.  The outcome of both medical and surgical abortions were compared in terms of amount of blood loss and associated complications like retained placenta and sepsis.Results: The overall complications were more in the medical group with 11.25% vs 2.5% in the surgical group (p value=0.02), with higher incidence of retained placenta (8 vs 0) and a higher amount of blood loss (129.20 +/- 20.4 ml vs 70.89 +/- 11.2 ml, p value <0.001) requiring blood transfusion.Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the surgical method is a more effective and safer procedure as compared to medical method.  The complication rates were lower and it was also more cost effective.
Saskia Richter (1978 - 2015)
Authors: Eckert Astrid M.
Published: January 2016

Saskia Richter, the author of the first scholarly biography of the Green politician Petra Kelly, died in August 2015, age 37, after a four-year battle with cancer.
A Review on the Properties of Iron Aluminide Intermetallics
Authors: Zamanzade Mohammad , Barnoush Afrooz , Motz Christian
Published: January 2016

Iron aluminides have been among the most studied intermetallics since the 1930s, when their excellent oxidation resistance was first noticed. Their low cost of production, low density, high strength-to-weight ratios, good wear resistance, ease of fabrication and resistance to high temperature oxidation and sulfurization make them very attractive as a substitute for routine stainless steel in industrial applications. Furthermore, iron aluminides allow for the conservation of less accessible and expensive elements such as nickel and molybdenum. These advantages have led to the consideration of many applications, such as brake disks for windmills and trucks, filtration systems in refineries and fossil power plants, transfer rolls for hot-rolled steel strips, and ethylene crackers and air deflectors for burning high-sulfur coal. A wide application for iron aluminides in industry strictly depends on the fundamental understanding of the influence of (i) alloy composition; (ii) microstructure; and (iii) number (type) of defects on the thermo-mechanical properties. Additionally, environmental degradation of the alloys, consisting of hydrogen embrittlement, anodic or cathodic dissolution, localized corrosion and oxidation resistance, in different environments should be well known. Recently, some progress in the development of new micro- and nano-mechanical testing methods in addition to the fabrication techniques of micro- and nano-scaled samples has enabled scientists to resolve more clearly the effects of alloying elements, environmental items and crystal structure on the deformation behavior of alloys. In this paper, we will review the extensive work which has been done during the last decades to address each of the points mentioned above.
Accelerated Approach for the Band Structures Calculation of Phononic Crystals by Finite Element Method
Authors: Han Lin , Zhang Yan , Li Xiao-mei , Jiang Lin-hua , Chen Da
Published: January 2016

We present here a fast and easily realized computational approach based on the finite element methods with consistent and lumped mass matrices (CM-FEM and LM-FEM, respectively), and the Bloch’s theorem, to calculate the elastic band structures of phononic crystals. Two improvements, the adjustment of the introduction of Bloch’s theorem as well as weighting treatment of consistent and lumped mass matrices, are performed. Numerical simulations show that convergence speed is accelerated obviously. Furthermore, the method is verified by analytical solutions in specified homogeneous cases. It is concluded that compared with CM-FEM or LM-FEM, the present method gives higher precision results with sparser mesh and takes less time.
Detecting the Common and Individual Effects of Rare Variants on Quantitative Traits by Using Extreme Phenotype Sampling
Authors: Zhou Ya-Jing , Wang Yong , Chen Li-Li
Published: January 2016

Next-generation sequencing technology has made it possible to detect rare genetic variants associated with complex human traits. In recent literature, various methods specifically designed for rare variants are proposed. These tests can be broadly classified into burden and nonburden tests. In this paper, we take advantage of the burden and nonburden tests, and consider the common effect and the individual deviations from the common effect. To achieve robustness, we use two methods of combining p-values, Fisher’s method and the minimum-p method. In rare variant association studies, to improve the power of the tests, we explore the advantage of the extreme phenotype sampling. At first, we dichotomize the continuous phenotypes before analysis, and the two extremes are treated as two different groups representing a dichotomous phenotype. We next compare the powers of several methods based on extreme phenotype sampling and random sampling. Extensive simulation studies show that our proposed methods by using extreme phenotype sampling are the most powerful or very close to the most powerful one in various settings of true models when the same sample size is used.
Behavior Change without Behavior Change Communication: Nudging Handwashing among Primary School Students in Bangladesh
Authors: Dreibelbis Robert , Kroeger Anne , Hossain Kamal , Venkatesh Mohini , Ram Pavani
Published: January 2016

Behavior change communication for improving handwashing with soap can be labor and resource intensive, yet quality results are difficult to achieve. Nudges are environmental cues engaging unconscious decision-making processes to prompt behavior change. In this proof-of-concept study, we developed an inexpensive set of nudges to encourage handwashing with soap after toilet use in two primary schools in rural Bangladesh. We completed direct observation of behaviors at baseline, after providing traditional handwashing infrastructure, and at multiple time periods following targeted handwashing nudges (1 day, 2 weeks, and 6 weeks). No additional handwashing education or motivational messages were completed. Handwashing with soap among school children was low at baseline (4%), increasing to 68% the day after nudges were completed and 74% at both 2 weeks and 6 weeks post intervention. Results indicate that nudge-based interventions have the potential to improve handwashing with soap among school-aged children in Bangladesh and specific areas of further inquiry are discussed.
Function and Regulation of Heterotrimeric G Proteins during Chemotaxis
Authors: Kamp Marjon , Liu Youtao , Kortholt Arjan
Published: January 2016

Chemotaxis, or directional movement towards an extracellular gradient of chemicals, is necessary for processes as diverse as finding nutrients, the immune response, metastasis and wound healing. Activation of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) is at the very base of the chemotactic signaling pathway. Chemotaxis starts with binding of the chemoattractant to GPCRs at the cell-surface, which finally leads to major changes in the cytoskeleton and directional cell movement towards the chemoattractant. Many chemotaxis pathways that are directly regulated by Gβγ have been identified and studied extensively; however, whether Gα is just a handle that regulates the release of Gβγ or whether Gα has its own set of distinct chemotactic effectors, is only beginning to be understood. In this review, we will discuss the different levels of regulation in GPCR signaling and the downstream pathways that are essential for proper chemotaxis.
Erdr1 Suppresses Murine Melanoma Growth via Regulation of Apoptosis
Authors: Lee Joohyun , Jung Min , Park Hyun , Kim Kyung , Cho Daeho
Published: January 2016

Melanoma, one of the aggressive cancers, is known to be resistant to chemotherapy. Because of its aggressive nature, effectively inducing apoptosis is necessary to treat melanoma. Erythroid differentiation regulator 1 (Erdr1) is known to be a stress-related survival factor exhibiting anti-cancer effects in several cancers. However, little is known about the functions and underlying mechanisms of Erdr1 so far. To demonstrate the effect of Erdr1 in melanoma apoptosis, recombinant murine Erdr1 was injected into mice implanted with B16F10 melanoma cells. In vivo tumor growth was significantly inhibited in mice injected with Erdr1 compared to the control. In addition, the tumor from Erdr1-injected mice showed an increased level of apoptosis. Accordingly, apoptosis-regulating factors including anti-apoptotic marker Bcl-2 and pro-apoptotic marker Bax in the tumor tissues were examined. As expected, the decreased level of Bcl-2 and increased level of Bax were detected in tumors within the mice injected with Erdr1. Based on the in vivo study, the role of Erdr1 in tumor apoptosis was further tested by incubating it with cells of the murine melanoma cell line B16F10. Erdr1-induced apoptosis in B16F10 cells was observed. Additionally, Erdr1 downregulated STAT3 activity, inhibiting apoptosis via regulation of the Bcl-2 family. Overall, data demonstrate that Erdr1 induced murine melanoma apoptosis through the regulation of Bcl-2 and Bax. These findings suggest that Erdr1 is a novel regulator of apoptosis in melanoma.
Transcriptomic Crosstalk between Fungal Invasive Pathogens and Their Host Cells: Opportunities and Challenges for Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Authors: Enguita Francisco , Costa Marina , Fusco-Almeida Ana , Mendes-Giannini Maria , Leitão Ana
Published: January 2016

Fungal invasive infections are an increasing health problem. The intrinsic complexity of pathogenic fungi and the unmet clinical need for new and more effective treatments requires a detailed knowledge of the infection process. During infection, fungal pathogens are able to trigger a specific transcriptional program in their host cells. The detailed knowledge of this transcriptional program will allow for a better understanding of the infection process and consequently will help in the future design of more efficient therapeutic strategies. Simultaneous transcriptomic studies of pathogen and host by high-throughput sequencing (dual RNA-seq) is an unbiased protocol to understand the intricate regulatory networks underlying the infectious process. This protocol is starting to be applied to the study of the interactions between fungal pathogens and their hosts. To date, our knowledge of the molecular basis of infection for fungal pathogens is still very limited, and the putative role of regulatory players such as non-coding RNAs or epigenetic factors remains elusive. The wider application of high-throughput transcriptomics in the near future will help to understand the fungal mechanisms for colonization and survival, as well as to characterize the molecular responses of the host cell against a fungal infection.
Synthesis, X-ray Structure, Optical, and Electrochemical Properties of a White-Light-Emitting Molecule
Authors: Hu Jiun-Wei , Wu Ying-Hsuan , Tsai Hsing-Yang , Chen Kew-Yu
Published: January 2016

A new white-light-emitting molecule (1) was synthesized and characterized by NMR spectroscopy, high resolution mass spectrometry, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma, with a = 12.6814(6), b = 7.0824(4), c = 17.4628(9) Å, α = 90°, β = 90°, γ = 90°. In the crystal, molecules are linked by weak intermolecular C-H···O hydrogen bonds, forming an infinite chain along [100], generating a C(10) motif. Compound 1 possesses an intramolecular six-membered-ring hydrogen bond, from which excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) takes place from the phenolic proton to the carbonyl oxygen, resulting in a tautomer that is in equilibrium with the normal species, exhibiting a dual emission that covers almost all of the visible spectrum and consequently generates white light. It exhibits one irreversible one-electron oxidation and two irreversible one-electron reductions in dichloromethane at modest potentials. Furthermore, the geometric structures, frontier molecular orbitals (MOs), and the potential energy curves (PECs) for 1 in the ground and the first singlet excited state were fully rationalized by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations. The results demonstrate that the forward and backward ESIPT may happen on a similar timescale, enabling the excited-state equilibrium to be established.
The Stimulatory Effect of Strontium Ions on Phytoestrogens Content in Glycine max (L.) Merr
Authors: Wójciak-Kosior Magdalena , Sowa Ireneusz , Blicharski Tomasz , Strzemski Maciej , Dresler Sławomir , Szymczak Grażyna , Wnorowski Artur , Kocjan Ryszard , Świeboda Ryszard
Published: January 2016

The amount of secondary metabolites in plants can be enhanced or reduced by various external factors. In this study, the effect of strontium ions on the production of phytoestrogens in soybeans was investigated. The plants were treated with Hoagland’s solution, modified with Sr2+ with concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 mM, and were grown for 14 days in hydroponic cultivation. After harvest, soybean plants were separated into roots and shoots, dried, and pulverized. The plant material was extracted with methanol and hydrolyzed. Phytoestrogens were quantified by HPLC. The significant increase in the concentration of the compounds of interest was observed for all tested concentrations of strontium ions when compared to control. Sr2+ at a concentration of 2 mM was the strongest elicitor, and the amount of phytoestrogens in plant increased ca. 2.70, 1.92, 3.77 and 2.88-fold, for daidzein, coumestrol, genistein and formononetin, respectively. Moreover, no cytotoxic effects were observed in HepG2 liver cell models after treatment with extracts from 2 mM Sr2+-stressed soybean plants when compared to extracts from non-stressed plants. Our results indicate that the addition of strontium ions to the culture media may be used to functionalize soybean plants with enhanced phytoestrogen content.
The Role of Inclusion Binding Contributions for β-Cyclodextrin Polymers Cross-Linked with Divinyl Sulfone?—A Comment on Morales-Sanfrutos et al. Entitled “Divinyl Sulfone Cross-Linked Cyclodextrin-Based Polymeric Materials: Synthesis and Applications as Sorbents and Encapsulating Agents”, Molecules, 2015, 20, 3565–3581.
Authors: Wilson Lee , Mohamed Mohamed , McMartin Dena
Published: January 2016

This commentary reports on a recent scientific study reported in this journal (cf. Molecules 2015, 20(3), 3565–3581). Some key scientific issues that require further explanation and clarification in the former article are as follows: (i) the relationship between the inclusion site accessibility and the level of cross-linking employed are brought into question for the case of α-CD and β-CD cross-linked adsorbent materials; (ii) the binding affinity of the CD/guest complexes were not related to the isotherm parameters for the CD-polymer/guest systems; (iii) the limited molecular level structural characterization of the cross-linked polymer materials; and (iv) the interpretation of the adsorption isotherm results by the authors.
Impact of Diet Composition in Adult Offspring is Dependent on Maternal Diet during Pregnancy and Lactation in Rats
Authors: Hallam Megan , Reimer Raylene
Published: January 2016

The Thrifty Phenotype Hypothesis proposes that the fetus takes cues from the maternal environment to predict its postnatal environment. A mismatch between the predicted and actual environments precipitates an increased risk of chronic disease. Our objective was to determine if, following a high fat, high sucrose (HFS) diet challenge in adulthood, re-matching offspring to their maternal gestational diet would improve metabolic health more so than if there was no previous exposure to that diet. Animals re-matched to a high prebiotic fiber diet (HF) had lower body weight and adiposity than animals re-matched to a high protein (HP) or control (C) diet and also had increased levels of the satiety hormones GLP-1 and PYY (p < 0.05). Control animals, whether maintained throughout the study on AIN-93M, or continued on HFS rather than reverting back to AIN-93M, did not differ from each other in body weight or adiposity. Overall, the HF diet was associated with the most beneficial metabolic phenotype (body fat, glucose control, satiety hormones). The HP diet, as per our previous work, had detrimental effects on body weight and adiposity. Findings in control rats suggest that the obesogenic potential of the powdered AIN-93 diet warrants investigation.
Random Forest-Based Recognition of Isolated Sign Language Subwords Using Data from Accelerometers and Surface Electromyographic Sensors
Authors: Su Ruiliang , Chen Xiang , Cao Shuai , Zhang Xu
Published: January 2016

Sign language recognition (SLR) has been widely used for communication amongst the hearing-impaired and non-verbal community. This paper proposes an accurate and robust SLR framework using an improved decision tree as the base classifier of random forests. This framework was used to recognize Chinese sign language subwords using recordings from a pair of portable devices worn on both arms consisting of accelerometers (ACC) and surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors. The experimental results demonstrated the validity of the proposed random forest-based method for recognition of Chinese sign language (CSL) subwords. With the proposed method, 98.25% average accuracy was obtained for the classification of a list of 121 frequently used CSL subwords. Moreover, the random forests method demonstrated a superior performance in resisting the impact of bad training samples. When the proportion of bad samples in the training set reached 50%, the recognition error rate of the random forest-based method was only 10.67%, while that of a single decision tree adopted in our previous work was almost 27.5%. Our study offers a practical way of realizing a robust and wearable EMG-ACC-based SLR systems.
Sols et paléosols argileux foncés des environs de Madrid
Authors: Paquet H. , Vaudour Jean
Published: January 2016

Des sols et paléosols argileux foncés à caractères vertiques accusés ont été observés dans la dépression semi-endoréique de Vicalvaro-Coslada, principalement sur les faciès du Vindobonien continental. Des sols bruns fersiallitiques lessivés couvrent les sables arkosiques de la bordure occidentale, tandis qu'une belle toposéquence allant des xérorendzines aux vertisols peut être décrite sur les gypses du versant oriental. La découverte d'une industrie fini-acheuléenne permet de montrer que tous les profils sont postérieurs au Riss. L'attapulgite qui se néoforme habituellement dans des régions arides peut apparaître exceptionnellement à la faveur d'une aridité moins poussée dans les horizons encroûtés des sols sur sédiment gypseux. La sépiolite, très abondante dans le substratum où elle est activement exploitée, disparaît toujours dans les sols où elle cède la place à de la montmorillonite néoformée. Aucune évolution minéralogique n'est décelée dans les sols bruns fersiallitiques sur sables arkosiques. Les sols argileux à édifices gonflants ont influencé profondément l'évolution géomorphologique de la dépression en accélérant la désorganisation du drainage et en facilitant la déflation éolienne durant les périodes froides et sèches du Würm.
Les structures d'hébergement touristique en Haut-Quercy
Authors: Daubet Michel
Published: January 2016

L'importance du phénomène touristique en Haut-Quercy se mesure à la population saisonnière accueillie : 80 000 personnes, représentant plus de 50 % de la population sédentaire. Au tourisme d'excursion, s'appuyant sur des sites ou curiosités anciennement fréquentés, comme Padirac ou Rocamadour, s'associe un important tourisme de séjour, né du retour des Lotois dans leur pays d'origine. Les structures d'hébergement touristique ont connu une diversification et un essor croissants depuis le début des années cinquante. Mouvement spontané au départ, réutilisant l'habitat libéré par l'exode rural, le tourisme s'organise et crée peu à peu un habitat propre. On assiste actuellement à une diffusion de l'implantation touristique dans le Causse et ses régions bordières : Ségala, Limargue, tandis que dans les vallées du Lot et de la Dordogne, plus précocement occupées, l'habitat traditionnel disponible est parfois saturé. Des régions touristiques se dessinent selon les formes de tourisme pratiquées et le dynamisme des bourgades concernées.
Les transformations de la composition sociale de la ville de Bordeaux
Authors: Pailhé Joël
Published: January 2016

Dans une ville caractérisée par le dépeuplement, le vieillissement démographique et la désindustrialisation, les transformations de la composition sociale de Bordeaux se traduisent par un laminage des commerçants et artisans, une croissance nette des cadres supérieurs et des couches moyennes salariées et un tassement des employés. Chez les ouvriers, la diminution générale s'accompagne d'un renforcement des O.S. et des manœuvres au détriment des ouvriers qualifiés. L'analyse à l'échelon du quartier montre un approfondissement des formes de ségrégation de la population résidente (quartiers bourgeois et prolétariens), les liens unissant les composantes de la population et l'enjeu des stratégies d'appropriation de l'espace social.
L'évolution récente des structures commerciales dans l'agglomération de Bordeaux
Authors: Cassou-Mounat Micheline
Published: January 2016

La commune-centre a longtemps rassemblé la majeure partie des équipements commerciaux de l'agglomération. Depuis dix ans, la multiplication des centres commerciaux périphériques et des grandes surfaces de vente traduit la projection du commerce banal et des services courants vers les clientèles suburbaines. Ces nouveaux équipements jouent un rôle important dans la structuration des espaces urbains périphériques, surtout lorsqu'ils sont renforcés par d'autres activités (culturelles, scolaires, sportives ou sociales) comme cela se produit en particulier autour des bourgs et de quelques pôles attractifs de la rive droite. Les changements récents ne concernent pas seulement les nouvelles localisations commerciales, ils intéressent l'ensemble de l'appareil commercial traditionnel. Cette évolution se traduit par la disparition des commerces isolés, les difficultés d'adaptation des groupements traditionnels des barrières et par les mutations d'un centre urbain puissant qui se spécialise dans des fonctions de niveau supérieur, allant jusqu'au commerce de services rares. L'absence d'une véritable politique d'urbanisme commercial se révèle dans l'affrontement de plusieurs projets en cours de réalisation dans les grands secteurs de rénovation urbaine.
Adaptation to flooding and mitigating impacts of road construction − a framework to identify practical steps to counter climate change
Authors: Mallick Rajib B. , Zaumanis Martins , Frank Robert
Published: January 2016

Adaptation and mitigation are the two critical actions that are needed to counter the looming threats of climate change on transportation. For roadways, flooding constitutes one of the most important impacts of climate change, and adaptation to build more resilient roadways must be made. For a proper adaptation, the first step is a way to properly assess the vulnerability of roadways to flooding. Road construction impacts the environment negatively through emissions and energy consumption, and a proper way to determine the practical methods to reduce the impact is also necessary. This paper presents a framework to assess the vulnerability of roadways to flooding and evaluate the impact of different changes in construction on energy consumption and emission. Two system dynamics based models were developed and results of the simulations have been presented. Simulation tools for these two models have also been developed and made available on the public domain. The results of the simulation point out the beneficial effects of providing low permeability and dense and thick surface layers to reduce vulnerability to flooding and that of using drier aggregates, reducing heat losses, reduced mix temperatures and extension of pavement lives on the emission and energy consumption during roadway construction.
Pavement diagnosis accuracy with controlled application of artificial neural network
Authors: Pożarycki Andrzej
Published: January 2016

Results of research studies, the amount of input data available in pavement management system databases, and artificial intelligence methods serve as versatile tools, well-suited for the analysis conducted as a part of pavement management system. The key source of new and to be employed knowledge is provided. In terms of e.g. assessing thickness of bituminous pavement layers, the default solution is pavement drilling, but for the purposes of pavement management it is prohibitively expensive. This paper attempts to test the original concept of employing an empirical relationship in an algorithm verifying results produced by the artificial neural network method. The assumed multistage asphalt pavement layer thickness identification control process boils down to evaluating test results of the road section built using both, reinforced and non-reinforced pavement structure. By default, the artificial neural network training set has not included the reinforced pavement sections. Hence, it has been possible to identify “perturbations” in assumptions underlying the training set. Pavement test section points’ results are indicated in the automated manner, which, in line with implemented methods, is not generated by perturbations caused by divergence between actual pavement structure and assumptions taken for purposes of building pavement management system database, and the artificial neural network learning dataset is based on.
REVEALING W51C AS A COSMIC RAY SOURCE USING FERMI-LAT DATA
Authors: Jogler T. , Funk S.
Published: January 2016

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are commonly believed to be the primary sources of Galactic cosmic rays. Despite intensive study of the non-thermal emission of many SNRs the identification of the accelerated particle type relies heavily on assumptions of ambient-medium parameters that are only loosely constrained. Compelling evidence of hadronic acceleration can be provided by detecting a strong roll-off in the secondary γ-ray spectrum below the

production threshold energy of about 135 MeV, the so called “pion bump.” Here we use five years of Fermi-Large Area Telescope data to study the spectrum above 60 MeV of the middle-aged SNR W51C. A clear break in the power-law γ-ray spectrum at

is detected with

significance and we show that this break is most likely associated with the energy production threshold of

mesons. A high-energy break in the γ-ray spectrum at about 2.7 GeV is found with

significance. The spectral index at energies beyond this second break is

and closely matches the spectral index derived by the MAGIC Collaboration above 75 GeV. Therefore our analysis provides strong evidence to explain the γ-ray spectrum of W51C by a single particle population of protons with a momentum spectrum best described by a broken power law with break momentum

W51C is the third middle-aged SNR that displays compelling evidence for cosmic-ray acceleration and thus strengthens the case of SNRs as the main source of Galactic cosmic rays.
WHISTLER TURBULENCE HEATING OF ELECTRONS AND IONS: THREE-DIMENSIONAL PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATIONS
Authors: Gary S. Peter , Hughes R. Scott , Wang Joseph
Published: January 2016

The decay of whistler turbulence in a collisionless, homogeneous, magnetized plasma is studied using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The simulations are initialized with a narrowband, relatively isotropic distribution of long wavelength whistler modes. A first ensemble of simulations at electron beta

 = 0.25 and ion-to-electron mass ratio

/

 = 400 is carried out on a domain cube of dimension

/c = 5.12 where

is the ion plasma frequency. The simulations begin with a range of dimensionless fluctuating field energy densities,

, and follow the fluctuations as they cascade to broadband, anisotropic turbulence which dissipates at shorter wavelengths, heating both electrons and ions. The electron heating is stronger and preferentially parallel/antiparallel to the background magnetic field

the ion energy gain is weaker and is preferentially in directions perpendicular to

. The important new results here are that, over 0.01 <

< 0.25, the maximum rate of electron heating scales approximately as

, and the maximum rate of ion heating scales approximately as

. A second ensemble of simulations at

 = 0.10 and

 = 0.25 shows that, over 25 <

/

< 1836, the ratio of the maximum ion heating rate to the maximum electron heating rate scales approximately as

/

.
SYNCHROTRON ORIGIN OF THE TYPICAL GRB BAND FUNCTION—A CASE STUDY OF GRB 130606B
Authors: Zhang Bin-Bin , Uhm Z. Lucas , Connaughton Valerie , Briggs Michael S. , Zhang Bing
Published: January 2016

We perform a time-resolved spectral analysis of GRB 130606B within the framework of a fast-cooling synchrotron radiation model with magnetic field strength in the emission region decaying with time, as proposed by Uhm & Zhang. The data from all time intervals can be successfully fit by the model. The same data can be equally well fit by the empirical Band function with typical parameter values. Our results, which involve only minimal physical assumptions, offer one natural solution to the origin of the observed GRB spectra and imply that, at least some, if not all, Band-like GRB spectra with typical Band parameter values can indeed be explained by synchrotron radiation.
RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE WEAK, MAIN, AND FISSION-RECYCLING r-PROCESS
Authors: Shibagaki S. , Kajino T. , Mathews G. J. , Chiba S. , Nishimura S. , Lorusso G.
Published: January 2016

There has been a persistent conundrum in attempts to model the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements by rapid neutron capture (the r-process). Although the locations of the abundance peaks near nuclear mass numbers 130 and 195 identify an environment of rapid neutron capture near closed nuclear shells, the abundances of elements just above and below those peaks are often underproduced by more than an order of magnitude in model calculations. At the same time, there is a debate in the literature as to what degree the r-process elements are produced in supernovae or the mergers of binary neutron stars. In this paper we propose a novel solution to both problems. We demonstrate that the underproduction of nuclides above and below the r-process peaks in main or weak r-process models (like magnetohydrodynamic jets or neutrino-driven winds in core-collapse supernovae) can be supplemented via fission fragment distributions from the recycling of material in a neutron-rich environment such as that encountered in neutron star mergers (NSMs). In this paradigm, the abundance peaks themselves are well reproduced by a moderately neutron-rich, main r-process environment such as that encountered in the magnetohydrodynamical jets in supernovae supplemented with a high-entropy, weakly neutron-rich environment such as that encountered in the neutrino-driven-wind model to produce the lighter r-process isotopes. Moreover, we show that the relative contributions to the r-process abundances in both the solar system and metal-poor stars from the weak, main, and fission-recycling environments required by this proposal are consistent with estimates of the relative Galactic event rates of core-collapse supernovae for the weak and main r-process and NSMs for the fission-recycling r-process.
SENSITIVE 21 cm OBSERVATIONS OF NEUTRAL HYDROGEN IN THE LOCAL GROUP NEAR M31
Authors: Wolfe Spencer A. , Lockman Felix J. , Pisano D. J.
Published: January 2016

Very sensitive 21 cm H i measurements have been made at several locations around the Local Group galaxy M31 using the Green Bank Telescope at an angular resolution of 9.′1, with a 5σ detection level of N
H i
 = 3.9 × 1017 cm−2 for a 30 km s−1 line. Most of the H i in a 12 square-degree area almost equidistant between M31 and M33 is contained in nine discrete clouds that have a typical size of a few kpc and a H i mass of 105
M
⊙. Their velocities in the Local Group Standard of Rest lie between −100 and +40 km s−1, comparable to the systemic velocities of M31 and M33. The clouds appear to be isolated kinematically and spatially from each other. The total H i mass of all nine clouds is 1.4 × 106
M
⊙ for an adopted distance of 800 kpc, with perhaps another 0.2 × 106
M
⊙ in smaller clouds or more diffuse emission. The H i mass of each cloud is typically three orders of magnitude less than the dynamical (virial) mass needed to bind the cloud gravitationally. Although they have the size and H i mass of dwarf galaxies, the clouds are unlikely to be part of the satellite system of the Local Group, as they lack stars. To the north of M31, sensitive H i measurements on a coarse grid find emission that may be associated with an extension of the M31 high-velocity cloud (HVC) population to projected distances of ∼100 kpc. An extension of the M31 HVC population at a similar distance to the southeast, toward M33, is not observed.
CONTINUUM ENHANCEMENTS IN THE ULTRAVIOLET, THE VISIBLE AND THE INFRARED DURING THE X1 FLARE ON 2014 MARCH 29
Authors: Kleint Lucia , Heinzel Petr , Judge Phil , Krucker Säm
Published: January 2016

Enhanced continuum brightness is observed in many flares (“white light flares”), yet it is still unclear which processes contribute to the emission. To understand the transport of energy needed to account for this emission, we must first identify both the emission processes and the emission source regions. Possibilities include heating in the chromosphere causing optically thin or thick emission from free-bound transitions of Hydrogen, and heating of the photosphere causing enhanced H− continuum brightness. To investigate these possibilities, we combine observations from Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), SDO/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, and the ground-based Facility Infrared Spectrometer instrument, covering wavelengths in the far-UV, near-UV (NUV), visible, and infrared during the X1 flare SOL20140329T17:48. Fits of blackbody spectra to infrared and visible wavelengths are reasonable, yielding radiation temperatures ∼6000–6300 K. The NUV emission, formed in the upper photosphere under undisturbed conditions, exceeds these simple fits during the flare, requiring extra emission from the Balmer continuum in the chromosphere. Thus, the continuum originates from enhanced radiation from photosphere (visible-IR) and chromosphere (NUV). From the standard thick-target flare model, we calculate the energy of the nonthermal electrons observed by Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscope Imager (RHESSI) and compare it to the energy radiated by the continuum emission. We find that the energy contained in most electrons >40 keV, or alternatively, of ∼10%–20% of electrons >20 keV is sufficient to explain the extra continuum emission of ∼(4–8) × 1010 erg s−1 cm−2. Also, from the timing of the RHESSI HXR and the IRIS observations, we conclude that the NUV continuum is emitted nearly instantaneously when HXR emission is observed with a time difference of no more than 15 s.
CHROMOSPHERIC SUNSPOTS IN THE MILLIMETER RANGE AS OBSERVED BY THE NOBEYAMA RADIOHELIOGRAPH
Authors: Iwai Kazumasa , Koshiishi Hideki , Shibasaki Kiyoto , Nozawa Satoshi , Miyawaki Shun , Yoneya Takuro
Published: January 2016

We investigate the upper chromosphere and the transition region of the sunspot umbra using the radio brightness temperature at 34 GHz (corresponding to 8.8 mm observations) as observed by the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH). Radio free–free emission in the longer millimeter range is generated around the transition region, and its brightness temperature yields the region's temperature and density distribution. We use the NoRH data at 34 GHz by applying the Steer-CLEAN image synthesis. These data and the analysis method enable us to investigate the chromospheric structures in the longer millimeter range with high spatial resolution and sufficient visibilities. We also perform simultaneous observations of one sunspot using the NoRH and the Nobeyama 45 m telescope operating at 115 GHz. We determine that 115 GHz emission mainly originates from the lower chromosphere while 34 GHz emission mainly originates from the upper chromosphere and transition region. These observational results are consistent with the radio emission characteristics estimated from current atmospheric models of the chromosphere. On the other hand, the observed brightness temperature of the umbral region is almost the same as that of the quiet region. This result is inconsistent with current sunspot models, which predict a considerably higher brightness temperature of the sunspot umbra at 34 GHz. This inconsistency suggests that the temperature of the region at which the 34 GHz radio emission becomes optically thick should be lower than that predicted by the models.
TRANSITION-REGION/CORONAL SIGNATURES AND MAGNETIC SETTING OF SUNSPOT PENUMBRAL JETS: HINODE (SOT/FG), Hi-C, AND SDO/AIA OBSERVATIONS
Authors: Tiwari Sanjiv K. , Moore Ronald L. , Winebarger Amy R. , Alpert Shane E.
Published: January 2016

Penumbral microjets (PJs) are transient narrow bright features in the chromosphere of sunspot penumbrae, first characterized by Katsukawa et al. using the Ca ii H-line filter on Hinode's Solar Optical Telescope (SOT). It was proposed that the PJs form as a result of reconnection between two magnetic components of penumbrae (spines and interspines), and that they could contribute to the transition region (TR) and coronal heating above sunspot penumbrae. We propose a modified picture of formation of PJs based on recent results on the internal structure of sunspot penumbral filaments. Using data of a sunspot from Hinode/SOT, High Resolution Coronal Imager, and different passbands of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we examine whether PJs have signatures in the TR and corona. We find hardly any discernible signature of normal PJs in any AIA passbands, except for a few of them showing up in the 1600 Å images. However, we discovered exceptionally stronger jets with similar lifetimes but bigger sizes (up to 600 km wide) occurring repeatedly in a few locations in the penumbra, where evidence of patches of opposite-polarity fields in the tails of some penumbral filaments is seen in Stokes-V images. These tail PJs do display signatures in the TR. Whether they have any coronal-temperature plasma is unclear. We infer that none of the PJs, including the tail PJs, directly heat the corona in active regions significantly, but any penumbral jet might drive some coronal heating indirectly via the generation of Alfvén waves and/or braiding of the coronal field.
DROPOUT OF DIRECTIONAL ELECTRON INTENSITIES IN LARGE SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENTS
Authors: Tan Lun C. , Reames Donald V.
Published: January 2016

In the “gradual” solar energetic particle (SEP) event during solar cycle 23 we have observed the dispersionless modulation (“dropout”) in directional intensities of nonrelativistic electrons. The average duration of dropout periods is ∼0.8 hr, which is consistent with the correlation scale of solar wind turbulence. During the dropout period electrons could display scatter-free transport in an intermittent way. Also, we have observed a decrease in the anisotropic index of incident electrons with increasing electron energy (E
e), while the index of scattered/reflected electrons is nearly independent of E
e. We hence perform an observational examination of the correlation between the anisotropic index of low-energy scattered/reflected electrons and the signature of the locally measured solar wind turbulence in the dissipation range, which is responsible for resonant scattering of nonrelativistic electrons. Since during the dropout period the slab turbulence fraction is dominant (0.8 ± 0.1), we pay close attention to the effect of slab fraction on the correlation examined. Our observation is consistent with the simulation result that in the dominance of the slab turbulence component there should exist a dispatched structure of magnetic flux tubes, along which electrons could be transported in a scatter-free manner. Since a similar phenomenon is exhibited in the “impulsive” SEP event, electron dropout should be a transport effect. Therefore, being different from most ion dropout events, which are due to a compact flare source, the dropout of directional electron intensities should be caused by the change of turbulence status in the solar wind.
DYNAMICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR LIFE IN MULTI-HABITABLE PLANETARY SYSTEMS
Authors: Steffen Jason H. , Li Gongjie
Published: January 2016

Inspired by the close-proximity pair of planets in the Kepler-36 system, we consider two effects that may have important ramifications for the development of life in similar systems where a pair of planets may reside entirely in the habitable zone of the hosting star. Specifically, we run numerical simulations to determine whether strong, resonant (or non-resonant) planet–planet interactions can cause large variations in planet obliquity—thereby inducing large variations in climate. We also determine whether or not resonant interactions affect the rate of lithopanspermia between the planet pair—which could facilitate the growth and maintenance of life on both planets. We find that first-order resonances do not cause larger obliquity variations when compared with non-resonant cases. We also find that these resonant interactions are not a primary consideration in lithopanspermia. Lithopanspermia is enhanced significantly as the planet orbits come closer together—reaching nearly the same rate as ejected material falling back to the surface of the originating planet (assuming that the ejected material makes it out to the location of our initial conditions). Thus, in both cases our results indicate that close-proximity planet pairs in multi-habitable systems are conducive to life in the system.
MERGER SIGNATURES IN THE DYNAMICS OF STAR-FORMING GAS
Authors: Hung (洪肇伶) Chao-Ling , Hayward Christopher C. , Smith Howard A. , Ashby Matthew L. N. , Lanz Lauranne , Martínez-Galarza Juan R. , Sanders D. B. , Zezas Andreas
Published: January 2016

The recent advent of integral field spectrographs and millimeter interferometers has revealed the internal dynamics of many hundreds of star-forming galaxies. Spatially resolved kinematics have been used to determine the dynamical status of star-forming galaxies with ambiguous morphologies, and constrain the importance of galaxy interactions during the assembly of galaxies. However, measuring the importance of interactions or galaxy merger rates requires knowledge of the systematics in kinematic diagnostics and the visible time with merger indicators. We analyze the dynamics of star-forming gas in a set of binary merger hydrodynamic simulations with stellar mass ratios of 1:1 and 1:4. We find that the evolution of kinematic asymmetries traced by star-forming gas mirrors morphological asymmetries derived from mock optical images, in which both merger indicators show the largest deviation from isolated disks during strong interaction phases. Based on a series of simulations with various initial disk orientations, orbital parameters, gas fractions, and mass ratios, we find that the merger signatures are visible for ∼0.2–0.4 Gyr with kinematic merger indicators but can be approximately twice as long for equal-mass mergers of massive gas-rich disk galaxies designed to be analogs of z ∼ 2–3 submillimeter galaxies. Merger signatures are most apparent after the second passage and before the black holes coalescence, but in some cases they persist up to several hundred Myr after coalescence. About 20%–60% of the simulated galaxies are not identified as mergers during the strong interaction phase, implying that galaxies undergoing violent merging process do not necessarily exhibit highly asymmetric kinematics in their star-forming gas. The lack of identifiable merger signatures in this population can lead to an underestimation of merger abundances in star-forming galaxies, and including them in samples of star-forming disks may bias the measurements of disk properties such as intrinsic velocity dispersion.