bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Galaxy properties as revealed by MaNGA – I. Constraints on IMF and M*/L gradients in ellipticals
Authors: Domínguez Sánchez H , Bernardi M , Brownstein J R , Drory N , Sheth R K
Published: September 2019

We estimate ages, metallicities, α-element abundance ratios, and stellar initial mass functions (IMFs) of elliptical (E) and S0 galaxies from the MaNGA-DR15 survey. We stack spectra and use a variety of single stellar population synthesis models to interpret the absorption line strengths in these spectra. We quantify how these properties vary across the population, as well as with galactocentric distance. This paper is the first of a series and is based on a sample of pure elliptical galaxies at z ≤ 0.08. We confirm previous work showing that IMFs in Es with the largest luminosity (Lr) and central velocity dispersion (σ0) appear to be increasingly bottom heavy towards their centres. For these galaxies the stellar mass-to-light ratio decreases at most by a factor of 2 from the central regions to Re. In contrast, for lower Lr and σ0 galaxies, the IMF is shallower and M*/Lr in the central regions is similar to the outskirts, although quantitative estimates depend on assumptions about element abundance gradients. Accounting self-consistently for these gradients when estimating both M* and Mdyn brings the two into good agreement: gradients reduce Mdyn by ∼0.2 dex while only slightly increasing the M* inferred using a Kroupa IMF. This is a different resolution of the M*–Mdyn discrepancy than has been followed in the recent literature where M* of massive galaxies is increased by adopting a Salpeter IMF throughout the galaxy while leaving Mdyn unchanged. A companion paper discusses how stellar population differences are even more pronounced if one separates slow from fast rotators.
Seeking edge-on galaxies with substantial extraplanar dust using a radiative transfer model: determination of the model parameter uncertainties for EON_10.477_41.954 (FGC 79)
Authors: Shinn Jong-Ho
Published: September 2019

We have revisited the target EON_10.477_41.954 in order to determine more accurately the uncertainties in the model parameters that are important for target classification (i.e. galaxies with or without substantial extraplanar dust). We performed a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis for the 15 parameters of the three-dimensional radiative-transfer galaxy model we used previously for target classification. To investigate the convergence of the MCMC sampling – which is usually neglected in the literature but should not be – we monitored the integrated autocorrelation time (τint), and we achieved effective sample sizes >5650 for all the model parameters. The confidence intervals are unstable at the beginning of the iterations where the values of τint are increasing, but they become stable in later iterations where those values are almost constant. The final confidence intervals are ∼5–100 times larger than the nominal uncertainties used in our previous study (the standard deviation of three best-fitting results). Thus, those nominal uncertainties are not good proxies for the model-parameter uncertainties. Although the position of EON_10.477_41.954 in the target-classification plot (the scale height to diameter ratio of dust versus that of light source) decreases by about 20–30 per cent when compared to our previous study, its membership in the ‘high-group’ – i.e. among galaxies with substantial extraplanar dust – nevertheless remains unchanged.
Secularly powered outflows from AGNs: the dominance of non-merger driven supermassive black hole growth
Authors: Smethurst R J , Simmons B D , Lintott C J , Shanahan J
Published: September 2019

Recent observations and simulations have revealed the dominance of secular processes over mergers in driving the growth of both supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and galaxy evolution. Here, we obtain narrow-band imaging of AGN powered outflows in a sample of 12 galaxies with disc-dominated morphologies, whose history is assumed to be merger-free. We detect outflows in 10/12 sources in narrow-band imaging of the $\mathrm{[O\, \small {III}] }$ $5007~\mathring{\rm A}$ emission using filters on the Shane-3m telescope. We calculate a mean outflow rate for these AGNs of $0.95\pm 0.14~\rm {M}_{\odot }~\rm {yr}^{-1}$. This exceeds the mean accretion rate of their SMBHs ($0.054\pm 0.039~\rm {M}_{\odot }~\rm {yr}^{-1}$) by a factor of 18. Assuming that the galaxy must provide at least enough material to power both the AGN and outflow, this gives a lower limit on the average inflow rate of $1.01\pm 0.14~\rm {M}_{\odot }~\rm {yr}^{-1}$, a rate which simulations show can be achieved by bars, spiral arms, and cold accretion. We compare our disc-dominated sample to a sample of nearby AGNs with merger dominated histories and show that the black hole accretion rates in our sample are five times higher (4.2σ) and the outflow rates are five times lower (2.6σ). We suggest that this could be a result of the geometry of the smooth, planar inflow in a secular dominated system, which is both spinning up the black hole to increase accretion efficiency and less affected by feedback from the outflow, than in a merger-driven system with chaotic quasi-spherical inflows. This work provides further evidence that secular processes are sufficient to fuel SMBH growth.
Deep Learning Algorithms Applied to the Classification of Video Meteor Detections
Authors: Gural Peter S
Published: September 2019

The application of a class of advanced machine learning techniques, namely deep learning, has been applied to automating the confirmation/classification of potential meteor tracks in video imagery. Deep learning is shown to perform remarkably well, even surpassing human performance, and will likely supplant the need for human visual inspection and review of collected meteor imagery. When applied to time series measurements of meteor track centroid positions and integrated intensities obtained from each video frame, a recurrent neural network (RNN) has achieved 98.1 per cent recall, which is defined as the number of true meteors properly classified as meteors. The RNN allowed only 2.1 per cent leakage, defined herein as the number of false positives that were incorrectly identified as meteors. The desire is to maximize recall to avoid missed orbit estimations, while also minimizing false alarms leaking through to the next processing stage of multi-site trajectory and orbit estimation. When two-dimensional spatial imagery is available or the temporal image sequence can be reconstructed, these results climb to 99.94 per cent recall and only 0.4 per cent leakage when employing a convolutional neural network (CNN). This has been further generalized from a baseline of interleaved analog video to modern progressive scan digital imagery with equivalent results. The trained CNN, nicknamed MeteorNet, will be used for post-detection automated screening of potential meteor tracks and explored in the future as a potential upstream meteor detector.
Testing the entropy calibration of the radii of cool stars: models of α Centauri A and B
Authors: Spada Federico , Demarque Pierre
Published: September 2019

We present models of α Centauri A and B implementing an entropy calibration of the mixing-length parameter αMLT, recently developed and successfully applied to the Sun (Spada et al. 2018, ApJ, 869, 135). In this technique the value of αMLT in the 1D stellar evolution code is calibrated to match the adiabatic specific entropy derived from 3D radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of stellar convective envelopes, whose effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity are selected consistently along the evolutionary track. The customary treatment of convection in stellar evolution models relies on a constant, solar-calibrated αMLT. There is, however, mounting evidence that this procedure does not reproduce the observed radii of cool stars satisfactorily. For instance, modelling α Cen A and B requires an ad-hoc tuning of αMLT to distinct, non-solar values. The entropy-calibrated models of α Cen A and B reproduce their observed radii within $1\%$ (or better) without externally adjusted parameters. The fit is of comparable quality to that of models with freely adjusted αMLT for α Cen B (within 1 σ), while it is less satisfactory for α Cen A (within ≈2.5 σ). This level of accuracy is consistent with the intrinsic uncertainties of the method. Our results demonstrate the capability of the entropy calibration method to produce stellar models with radii accurate within $1\%$. This is especially relevant in characterising exoplanet-host stars and their planetary systems accurately.
On the survivability of planets in young massive clusters and its implication of planet orbital architectures in globular clusters
Authors: Cai Maxwell X , Portegies Zwart S , Kouwenhoven M B N , Spurzem Rainer
Published: September 2019

As of 2019 August, among the more than 4000 confirmed exoplanets, only one has been detected in a globular cluster (GC) M4. The scarce of exoplanet detections motivates us to employ direct N-body simulations to investigate the dynamical stability of planets in young massive clusters (YMC), which are potentially the progenitors of GCs. In an N = 128 k cluster of virial radius 1.7 pc (comparable to Westerlund-1), our simulations show that most wide-orbit planets (a ≥ 20 au) will be ejected within a time-scale of 10 Myr. Interestingly, more than $70{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of planets with a < 5 au survive in the 100 Myr simulations. Ignoring planet–planet scattering and tidal damping, the survivability at t Myr as a function of initial semimajor axis a0 in au in such a YMC can be described as fsurv(a0, t) = −0.33log10(a0)(1 − e−0.0482t) + 1. Upon ejection, about $28.8{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of free-floating planets (FFPs) have sufficient speeds to escape from the host cluster at a crossing time-scale. The other FFPs will remain bound to the cluster potential, but the subsequent dynamical evolution of the stellar system can result in the delayed ejection of FFPs from the host cluster. Although a full investigation of planet population in GCs requires extending the simulations to multiGyr, our results suggest that wide-orbit planets and free-floating planets are unlikely to be found in GCs.
The aspherical explosion of the Type IIP SN 2017gmr
Authors: Nagao T , Cikota A , Patat F , Taubenberger S , Bulla M , Faran T , Sand D J , Valenti S , Andrews J E , Reichart D E
Published: September 2019

Type IIP supernovae (SNe IIP), which represent the most common class of core-collapse (CC) SNe, show a rapid increase in continuum polarization just after entering the tail phase. This feature can be explained by a highly asymmetric helium core, which is exposed when the hydrogen envelope becomes transparent. Here we report the case of an SN IIP (SN 2017gmr) that shows an unusually early rise of the polarization, ≳30 d before the start of the tail phase. This implies that SN 2017gmr is an SN IIP that has very extended asphericity. The asymmetries are not confined to the helium core, but reach out to a significant part of the outer hydrogen envelope, hence clearly indicating a marked intrinsic diversity in the aspherical structure of CC explosions. These observations provide new constraints on the explosion mechanism, where viable models must be able to produce such extended deviations from spherical symmetry, and account for the observed geometrical diversity.
The discovery of secondary lobes in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 2639
Authors: Sebastian Biny , Kharb P , O’Dea C P , Gallimore J F , Baum S A
Published: September 2019

We report the discovery of a secondary pair of radio lobes in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 2639 with polarization-sensitive observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). The presence of these lobes, which are aligned nearly perpendicular to the known set of radio lobes observed in the east–west direction, has not been reported previously in the literature. The in-band rotation measure image shows gradients in both the lobes indicative of organized magnetic field structures on kpc-scales. The magnetic field structure is aligned with the jet/lobe direction in both the lobes. Based on the settled optical morphology of the host galaxy, it is likely that a minor merger that did not disrupt the host galaxy structure is responsible for the observed features in NGC 2639. This also explains the near 90° change in the jet direction; the current jet direction being the result of a new accretion disc formed by the minor merger, whose direction was a result of the angular momentum of the inflowing merger gas.
The fifth main-sequence magnetic B-type star showing coherent radio emission: Is this really a rare phenomenon?
Authors: Das Barnali , Chandra Poonam , Shultz Matt E , Wade Gregg A
Published: September 2019

We report the discovery of intense, highly directional radio emission from the Bp star HD 35298, which we interpret as the consequence of Electron Cyclotron Maser Emission (ECME). The star was observed with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope near the rotational phases of both magnetic nulls in band 4 (550–750 MHz) and one of the nulls in band 5 (1060–1460 MHz). In band 4, we observed flux density enhancement in both circular polarizations near both magnetic nulls. The sequences of arrival of the left and right circularly polarized pulses are opposite near the two nulls. In band 5, we did not have circular polarization information and hence measured only the total intensity light curve, which also shows enhancement around the magnetic null. The observed sequence of the circular polarization signs in band 4, compared with the longitudinal magnetic field curve, is able to locate the hemisphere from which ECME arises. This observational evidence supports the scenario of ECME in the ordinary mode, arising in a magnetosphere shaped like an oblique dipole. HD 35298 is the most slowly rotating and most distant main-sequence magnetic star from which ECME has been observed.
Conserved HORMA domain-containing protein Hop1 stabilizes interaction between proteins of meiotic DNA break hotspots and chromosome axis
Authors: Kariyazono Ryo , Oda Arisa , Yamada Takatomi , Ohta Kunihiro
Published: September 2019

HORMA domain-containing proteins such as Hop1 play crucial regulatory roles in various chromosomal functions. Here, we investigated roles of the fission yeast Hop1 in the formation of recombination-initiating meiotic DNA double strand breaks (DSBs). Meiotic DSB formation in fission yeast relies on multiple protein-protein interactions such as the one between the chromosome axial protein Rec10 and the DSB-forming complex subunit Rec15. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing demonstrated that Hop1 is colocalized with both Rec10 and Rec15, and we observed physical interactions of Hop1 to Rec15 and Rec10. These results suggest that Hop1 promotes DSB formation by interacting with both axis components and the DSB-forming complex. We also show that Hop1 binding to DSB hotspots requires Rec15 and Rec10, while Hop1 axis binding requires Rec10 only, suggesting that Hop1 is recruited to the axis via Rec10, and to hotspots by hotspot-bound Rec15. Furthermore, we introduced separation-of-function Rec10 mutations, deficient for interaction with either Rec15 or Hop1. These single mutations and hop1Δ conferred only partial defects in meiotic recombination, while the combining the Rec15-binding-deficient rec10 mutation with hop1Δ synergistically reduced meiotic recombination, at least at a model hotspot. Taken together, Hop1 likely functions as a stabilizer for Rec15–Rec10 interaction to promote DSB formation.
Cannabis and Alcohol Co-Use in a Smoking Cessation Pharmacotherapy Trial for Adolescents and Emerging Adults
Authors: McClure Erin A , Baker Nathaniel L , Hood Caitlyn O , Tomko Rachel L , Squeglia Lindsay M , Flanagan Julianne C , Carpenter Matthew J , Gray Kevin M
Published: September 2019

Introduction

The co-use of cannabis and alcohol among tobacco-using youth is common. Alcohol co-use is associated with worse tobacco cessation outcomes, but results are mixed regarding the impact of cannabis on tobacco outcomes and if co-use leads to increased use of non-treated substances. This secondary analysis from a youth smoking cessation trial aimed to (1) evaluate the impact of cannabis or alcohol co-use on smoking cessation, (2) examine changes in co-use during the trial, and (3) explore secondary effects of varenicline on co-use.

Methods

The parent study was a 12-week, randomized clinical trial of varenicline for smoking cessation among youth (ages 14–21, N = 157; Mage = 19, 40% female; 76% White). Daily cigarette, cannabis, and alcohol use data were collected via daily diaries during treatment and Timeline Follow-back for 14 weeks post-treatment.

Results

Baseline cannabis co-users (68%) had double the odds of continued cigarette smoking throughout the trial compared with noncannabis users, which was pronounced in males and frequent cannabis users. Continued smoking during treatment was associated with higher probability of concurrent cannabis use. Baseline alcohol co-users (80%) did not have worse smoking outcomes compared with nonalcohol users, but continued smoking was associated with higher probability of concurrent drinking. Varenicline did not affect co-use.

Conclusions

Inconsistent with prior literature, results showed that alcohol co-users did not differ in smoking cessation, whereas cannabis co-users had poorer cessation outcomes. Youth tobacco treatment would benefit from added focus on substance co-use, particularly cannabis, but may need to be tailored appropriately to promote cessation.

Implications

Among youth cigarette smokers enrolled in a pharmacotherapy evaluation clinical trial, alcohol and/or cannabis co-use was prevalent. The co-use of cannabis affected smoking cessation outcomes, but more so for males and frequent cannabis users, whereas alcohol co-use did not affect smoking cessation. Reductions in smoking were accompanied by concurrent reductions in alcohol or cannabis use. Substance co-use does not appear to affect all youth smokers in the same manner and treatment strategies may need to be tailored appropriately for those with lower odds of smoking cessation.
Qur’an Alphabetics and the Timbre of Recitation
Authors: McMurray Peter
Published: September 2019

This article examines the history of timbre in Qur’anic recitation, focusing on the intersection of the interior, conceptual, rule-based space of the mouth and the exterior, physical, highly variable architecture of mosques. In both cases, timbre plays a critical role in making Qur’anic recitation recognizable, even to untrained ears, and even if—especially in the case of mosques—that predominant, stereotyped setting is not necessarily representative of the tradition more broadly. The article examines the tension between Qur’an as fixed text and as recitation (qur’ān) and the challenges of reconciling these two notions of Qur’an into a definitive, unitary whole, that proved elusive in the early centuries of Islam, precisely on grounds of timbral, phonetic, and dialectal questions. At the same time, the elaborate design of rules for proper recitation has been so fully developed over the last millennium that it has become a kind of cultural technique, a rule-based algorithm that imposes on human performers a set of media-like operations. Indeed, recent computer science and engineering have fully embraced the algorithmicizing of vocality and timbre in recitation to the point of creating a number of software platforms designed to reproduce or assess the proper application of these rules. In all these different trajectories—mouth, mosque, and media—the alphabetics of the Qur’an play a central role in transducing a sacred text into the contingencies of the material world.
Heretical Falsification and the Challenge of Theorizing LGBT Politics from the South
Authors: Nyeck S. N.
Published: September 2019

This chapter deals with the problem of legislating against non-normative genders and sexualities from the standpoint of postcolonial fear of and resistance to perceived Western encroachment. New technologies have increased anxiety about the future of an African self that some want to keep shackled to the altar of ontological pursuits. The cybersecurity debate in Cameroon shows the ways in which the nation deals with unfamiliar (perceived and real) threats in familiar ways. On the one hand, one applauds parliamentary commitment to protecting human dignity in the cyberspace. On the other hand, exemptions and exceptions are made based on sexual orientation or gender identity as categories deemed ineligible for protection are disappointing. At the intersection of progressive and regressive policy positions on sexuality is anxiety inspired by the emergence of gay rights activism in Cameroon as elsewhere in Africa and standard stories about homosexuality as a colonial Trojan horse. The interlocking of different images and signs, among which Dr. Louis Paul Aujoulat stands out as a sign of queer falsification, is particularly challenging for a theorist from the South devoted to non-binary thinking. Thinking counterfactually and engaging a queer meta-sign in Cameroonian politics yield surprising findings that this chapter presents.
Party Autonomy in Global Context
Authors: Muir Watt Horatia
Published: September 2019

The aim of this chapter is to contribute to transdisciplinary dialogue on a defining paradox within the classic liberal meta-discourse that still seems to determine structures of thought right across the social sciences. Profound transformations linked to the global legal turn have meant that while state-centered liberalism continues to define contemporary paradigms in legal thinking, it does so according to a curiously abridged or truncated version, which in turn affects the shape of the social, political, or economic “reality” that it purports merely to govern. The ensuing distortion is of very specific relevance in what is known as private international law—the part of the law that provides the legal framework for late capitalism, or, in different terms, the informal normative infrastructure of the global economy.
CS Indi: SU UMa-type dwarf nova with long precursor outburst
Authors: Kato Taichi , Hambsch Franz-Josef , Monard Berto , Nelson Peter , Stubbings Rod , Starr Peter
Published: September 2019

We observed the 2018 November outburst of CS Ind and confirmed that it was a genuine superoutburst with a very long [0.12471(1) d on average] superhump period. The superoutburst was preceded by a long precursor, which was recorded for the first time in SU UMa-type dwarf novae. Our interpretation is that the combination of a sufficient amount of mass in the disk before the ignition of the outburst and the slow development of tidal instability near the borderline of the 3 : 1 resonance caused a cooling front to start before the full development of tidal instability. This finding provides more support to the recent interpretation of slow development of the tidal instability causing various phenomena similar to WZ Sge-type dwarf novae in SU UMa-type dwarf novae with very long orbital periods.
Cutting edge or ignored resource: assessing the uptake and content of the NHS e-Learning for healthcare on “identifying and supporting survivors of modern slavery”
Authors: Helle Segan , Steele Sarah
Published: September 2019

Background

Across the last decade, healthcare emerged as a critical space for combatting modern slavery. Accurate and informative training of healthcare professionals is, therefore, essential. In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) plays a central role in the identification and care of survivors. With training at the local-level variable, an e-Learning programme was developed. We ask: has this programme reached NHS staff? Is it accurate? Should the e-Learning approach be replicated around the world?

Method

A Freedom of Information request has been sent to the NHS’s Health Education England for data held on registrations, sessions and completions since 2014. An open session was used to assess the content.

Results

Across the past 5 years, there have been 31 191 registrations (≈2% of the workforce) and 1763 completed sessions (≈0.12%). Uptake remains low. We also identify deficiencies in the ways the programme represents modern slavery, and how the program engages with the complexities of national and international law and UK policy, as well as reporting mechanisms.

Conclusions

e-Learning, while flexible and on-going, must be engaging and, we suggest, accompanied by in-person sessions. Materials should be co-produced with survivors and healthcare workers around the world to improve interest and relevance. Updating content regularly is critical.
RISK EVALUATION IN THE LOW-DOSE RANGE CT FOR RADIATION-EXPOSED CHILDREN, BASED ON DNA DAMAGE
Authors: Jánošíková Lenka , Juričeková Martina , Horváthová Martina , Nikodemová Denisa , Klepanec Andrej , Šalát Dušan
Published: September 2019

One of the most common usages of radiation in current medical diagnosis is computed tomography (CT) using X-rays. The potential health risk of CT scans has been discussed in various studies to determine whether low-dose radiation from CT could enhance the chromosome aberration yields in pediatric patients and increase their risk of carcinogenesis. For this reason, it is of great interest to study the effects of low-dose radiation. The induction of DNA damage by a CT scan examination has been demonstrated in several reports by the γ-H2AX assay, the micronuclei assay and dicentrics measurements. However, the results of most studies showed limitations. On the other hand, epidemiological studies give contradictory results for post-natal radiation exposure in the low-dose range, so it is still difficult to draw conclusions about the effects of CT examinations and risk of carcinogenesis. This article provides an overview of previously published data and summarizes the current state of knowledge.
Quality and inequality: creating value worlds with Third Wave coffee
Authors: Fischer Edward F
Published: September 2019

Based on a study of the burgeoning high-end (‘Third Wave’) coffee market in the USA and on research conducted with Maya farmers in Guatemala, this article examines how economic gains are extracted by translating values across symbolic and material worlds. Drawing on anthropological understandings of value and the analytic tools of convention theory, I show how roasters, baristas and marketers have developed a new lexicon of quality for coffee, one tied to narratives of provenance and exclusivity that creates much of the value added in the Third Wave market. This disadvantages smallholding coffee farmers who are heavily invested in land and the material means of production but who lack the social and cultural capital needed to extract surplus symbolic value from their crops. In this unintentional way, the quest for artisanal quality in the coffee market perpetuates classic dependency patterns of global capital accumulation across these value worlds.
Estimating Diversity Through Time Using Molecular Phylogenies: Old and Species-Poor Frog Families are the Remnants of a Diverse Past
Authors: Billaud O , Moen D S , Parsons T L , Morlon H
Published: September 2019

Estimating how the number of species in a given group varied in the deep past is of key interest to evolutionary biologists. However, current phylogenetic approaches for obtaining such estimates have limitations, such as providing unrealistic diversity estimates at the origin of the group. Here, we develop a robust probabilistic approach for estimating diversity through time curves and uncertainty around these estimates from phylogenetic data. We show with simulations that under various realistic scenarios of diversification, this approach performs better than previously proposed approaches. We also characterize the effect of tree size and undersampling on the performance of the approach. We apply our method to understand patterns of species diversity in anurans (frogs and toads). We find that Archaeobatrachia—a species-poor group of old frog clades often found in temperate regions—formerly had much higher diversity and net diversification rate, but the group declined in diversity as younger, nested clades diversified. This diversity decline seems to be linked to a decline in speciation rate rather than an increase in extinction rate. Our approach, implemented in the R package RPANDA, should be useful for evolutionary biologists interested in understanding how past diversity dynamics have shaped present-day diversity. It could also be useful in other contexts, such as for analyzing clade–clade competitive effects or the effect of species richness on phenotypic divergence.
Palaeobiodiversity of crocodylomorphs from the Lourinhã Formation based on the tooth record: insights into the palaeoecology of the Late Jurassic of Portugal
Authors: Guillaume Alexandre R D , Moreno-Azanza Miguel , Puértolas-Pascual Eduardo , Mateus Octávio
Published: September 2019

Crocodylomorphs were a diverse clade in the Late Jurassic of Portugal, with six taxa reported to date. Here we describe 126 isolated teeth recovered by screen-washing of sediments from Valmitão (Lourinhã, Portugal, late Kimmeridgian–Tithonian), a vertebrate microfossil assemblage in which at least five distinct crocodylomorph taxa are represented. Ten morphotypes are described and attributed to five clades (Lusitanisuchus, Atoposauridae, Goniopholididae, Bernissartiidae and an undetermined mesoeucrocodylian). Four different ecomorphotypes are here proposed according to ecological niches and feeding behaviours: these correspond to a diet based on arthropods and small vertebrates (Lusitanisuchus and Atoposauridae), a generalist diet (Goniopholididae), a durophagous diet (Bernissartiidae) and a carnivorous diet. Lusitanisuchus mitracostatus material from Guimarota is here redescribed to achieve a better illustration and comparison with the new material.

This assemblage shares similar ecomorphotypes with other Mesozoic west-central European localities, where a diversity of crocodylomorphs lived together, avoiding direct ecological competition through niche partitioning. The absence of large marine crocodylomorphs, present in other contemporaneous assemblages, is here interpreted as evidence that the Valmitão assemblage was deposited in a freshwater environment, although sample bias cannot be completely ruled out. These affinities are further supported by the presence of lanceolate and leaf-shaped teeth associated with continental clades.
Microscopic, Biochemical, and Molecular Comparisons of Moderately Resistant and Susceptible Populus Genotypes Inoculated with Sphaerulina musiva
Authors: Abraham Nivi , Chitrampalam Periasamy , Nelson Berlin , Sharma Poudel Roshan , Chittem Kishore , Borowicz Pawel , Brueggeman Robert , Jain Shalu , LeBoldus Jared Michael
Published: September 2019

Sphaerulina musiva, the causal agent of Septoria leaf spot and stem canker, is responsible for mortality and yield loss in Populus plantations. However, little is known about the mode of infection and the mechanisms of resistance in this pathosystem. To characterize these phenomena, microscopic, biochemical, and transcriptome comparisons were performed between leaves of moderately resistant and susceptible genotypes of Populus inoculated with S. musiva conidia. Using scanning electron, cryofracture, and laser-scanning confocal microscopy, the infection and colonization of Populus leaves by S. musiva were examined across five time points (48 h, 96 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks). The infection process was similar regardless of the host genotype. Differences in host colonization between susceptible and moderately resistant genotypes were apparent by 1 week postinoculation. However, the germination of conidia was greater on the susceptible than on the moderately resistant genotype (P < 0.008). Diaminobenzidine staining, a measure of hydrogen peroxide accumulation, was different (P < 0.001) between the host genotypes by 2 weeks postinoculation. Transcriptome differences between genotypes indicated that the speed and amplitude of the defense response were faster and more extensive in the moderately resistant genotype. Changes in gene expression support the microscopic and biochemical observations.
An roGFP2-Based Bacterial Bioreporter for Redox Sensing of Plant Surfaces
Authors: Liu Ting-Hang , Yaghmour Mohammad A. , Lee Miin-Huey , Gradziel Thomas M. , Leveau Johan H. J. , Bostock Richard M.
Published: September 2019

The reduction-oxidation (redox) environment of the phytobiome (i.e., the plant–microbe interface) can strongly influence the outcome of the interaction between microbial pathogens, commensals, and their host. We describe a noninvasive method using a bacterial bioreporter that responds to reactive oxygen species and redox-active chemicals to compare microenvironments perceived by microbes during their initial encounter of the plant surface. A redox-sensitive variant of green fluorescent protein (roGFP2), responsive to changes in intracellular levels of reduced and oxidized glutathione, was expressed under the constitutive SP6 and fruR promoters in the epiphytic bacterium Pantoea eucalypti 299R (Pe299R/roGFP2). Analyses of Pe299R/roGFP2 cells by ratiometric fluorometry showed concentration-dependent responses to several redox active chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), dithiothreitol (DTT), and menadione. Changes in intracellular redox were detected within 5 min of addition of the chemical to Pe299R/roGFP2 cells, with approximate detection limits of 25 and 6 μM for oxidation by H2O2 and menadione, respectively, and 10 μM for reduction by DTT. Caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and ascorbic acid mitigated the H2O2-induced oxidation of the roGFP2 bioreporter. Aqueous washes of peach and rose flower petals from young blossoms created a lower redox state in the roGFP2 bioreporter than washes from fully mature blossoms. The bioreporter also detected differences in surface washes from peach fruit at different stages of maturity and between wounded and nonwounded sites. The Pe299R/roGFP2 reporter rapidly assesses differences in redox microenvironments and provides a noninvasive tool that may complement traditional redox-sensitive chromophores and chemical analyses of cell extracts.
Office-based anesthesia: an update on safety and outcomes (2017–2019)
Authors: Seligson Erica , Beutler Sascha S. , Urman Richard D.
Published: September 2019

Purpose of review

Although both cost and patient preference tend to favor the office-based setting, one must consider the hidden costs in managing complications and readmissions. The purpose of this review is to provide an update on safety outcomes of office-based procedures, as well as to identify common patient-specific factors that influence the decision for office-based surgery or impact patient outcomes.

Recent findings

Office-based anesthesia (OBA) success rates from the latest publications of orthopedic, plastic, endovascular, and otolaryngologic continue to improve. A common thread among these studies is the ability to predict which patients will benefit from going home the same day, as well as identifying comorbid factors that would lead to failure to discharge or readmission after surgery. Specifically, patients with active infection, cardiovascular disease, coagulopathy, insulin-dependent diabetes, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, poorly controlled hypertension, and thromboembolic disease are presumed to be poor candidates for outpatient office procedures.

Overall, anesthesia and surgery in the office is becoming increasingly safe. Recent data suggest that the improved safety in the office-based setting is attributable to proper patient selection. Anesthesiologists play a critical role in prescreening eligible patients to ensure a safe and productive process. Patients treated in the office seem to be selected based on their low risk for complications, and our review reflects this position.
Application of stem cell transplantation in autoimmune diseases
Authors: Ng Sue-Ann , Sullivan Keith M.
Published: September 2019

Purpose of review

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a promising therapeutic modality for severe autoimmune diseases. In this review, we will outline the immunological mechanisms and the clinical evidence and experiences for therapeutic HSCT in autoimmune diseases, with particular focus on systemic sclerosis and multiple sclerosis.

Recent findings

Approximately 3000 patients with autoimmune diseases worldwide have been treated with HSCT. HSCT in systemic sclerosis has been shown in three randomized controlled trials to be associated with significant long-term event-free survival despite some transplant-related mortality in the first year. A recent controlled trial in multiple sclerosis has also show benefit with transplant.

The aim of HSCT is to ‘reset’ one's immune system into a naïve and self-tolerant state through immune depletion and regulation. HSCT requires careful patient selection, close collaboration between physicians and expertise of transplant team to ensure optimal outcome.
Urostomy Care
Authors: Berti-Hearn Linda , Elliott Brenda
Published: September 2019

This article focuses on the care and management of patients living with a urostomy. Improved surgical techniques and shortened hospital stays result in more patients receiving home care in the immediate postoperative period after surgical creation of a urostomy. It is important that home care clinicians have the knowledge and skills to manage the care of patients with a urostomy from hospital discharge to self-care. This article reviews the anatomy and physiology of the urinary tract, the formation of a stoma, and indications for the creation of a urostomy. Stent management, peristomal skin care, stomal complications as well as pouching options and accessories are discussed. Knowledge of care of patients with a urostomy can reduce the risk of complications and hospital readmissions, and assist patients to adjust to life with a urostomy.
The Spectrum of Pericardial Involvement in Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Authors: Fayyaz Beenish , Rehman Hafiz J.
Published: September 2019

Background

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a systemic vasculitis that commonly co-occurs with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in elderly patients. Pericardial disease is an unusual manifestation of these inflammatory conditions, which has been reported only in case reports and small observational studies. However, no extensive research has been performed to study the demographics and clinical history of GCA or PMR patients with concomitant pericardial features. As a result, the medical evidence to help guide the physicians when evaluating such individuals is limited.

Objective

To perform a systematic review of the medical literature in order to summarize the epidemiological and clinicopathological aspects of this unique association.

Methods

We conducted an extensive search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Ovid, Google Scholar, and gray literature to identify all the cases of GCA and PMR with pericardial involvement. The demographics, clinical features, and outcomes of the final cohort were reviewed and analyzed.

Results

The analysis comprised 52 clinical cases (51 identified from 46 articles and 1 from the residents' clinic). These included 44 patients with GCA and 8 with PMR. The mean age at presentation was 69.5 years, with only 46% of patients older than 70 years. The most common abnormality was pericardial effusion (85%), and in 37%, the pericardial event was the initial disease manifestation. Although a significant proportion of the patients were symptomatic (69%), the classic cranial symptoms were present in only 40%. Overall, the outcome was good even in the presence of large-vessel disease, which is usually a poor prognostic factor in classic GCA. On group analysis, patients with PMR were more likely to develop cardiac tamponade (37.5%; odds ratio, 25.8; confidence interval, 2.2–297.5; p = 0.01), whereas those with GCA were more likely to have large-vessel vasculitis (43%; odds ratio, 5.18; confidence interval, 0.58–252.1; p = 0.04).

Conclusions

This study illustrates that patients with pericardial involvement represent a clinical phenotype of GCA (and possibly PMR), which is quite different from the cranial or large-vessel forms. These patients have a better prognosis likely due to younger age and presence of more overt symptoms resulting in early diagnosis.
Human-mediated disturbance in multitrophic interactions results in outbreak levels of North America's most venomous caterpillar
Authors: Hood Glen R. , Comerford Mattheau , Weaver Amanda K. , Morton Patricia M. , Egan Scott P.
Published: September 2019

Anthropogenic environmental change is predicted to disrupt multitrophic interactions, which may have drastic consequences for population-level processes. Here, we investigate how a large-scale human-mediated disturbance affects the abundance of North America's most venomous caterpillar species,
Megalopyge opercularis
. Specifically, we used a natural experiment where netting was deployed to cover the entire canopies of a subset of mature southern live oak trees (
Quercus virginiana
) to exclude urban pest birds (grackles and pigeons), throughout an 8.1 km
2
area encompassing a medical centre in Houston, Texas. We used this experimental exclusion to test the following hypothesis: release from avian predators increases caterpillar abundance to outbreak levels, which increases the risk to human health. Results from a multi-year survey show that caterpillar abundance increased, on average, more than 7300% on netted versus non-netted trees. Thus, increases in caterpillar abundance due to anthropogenic enemy release increase human exposure to this venomous pest, and should be considered a health threat in the area. This study emphasizes the unforeseen consequences of ecological disturbance for species interactions and highlights the importance of considering ecology in urban planning.
The origin of the dark S
1
state in carotenoids: a comprehensive model
Authors: Fiedor Leszek , Dudkowiak Alina , Pilch Mariusz
Published: September 2019

In carotenoids, by analogy to polyenes, the symmetry of the π-electron system is often invoked to explain their peculiar electronic features, in particular the inactivity of the S
0
→ S
1
transition in one-photon excitation. In this review, we verify whether the molecular symmetry of carotenoids and symmetry of their π-electron system are supported in experimental and computational studies. We focus on spectroscopic techniques which are sensitive to the electron density distribution, including the X-ray crystallography, electronic absorption, two-photon techniques, circular dichroism, nuclear magnetic resonance, Stark and vibrational spectroscopies, and on this basis we seek for the origin of inactivity of the S
1
state. We come across no experimental and computational evidence for the symmetry effects and the existence of symmetry restrictions on the electronic states of carotenoids. They do not possess an inversion centre and the

C
2h

symmetry approximation of carotenoid structure is by no means justified. In effect, the application of symmetry rules (and notification) to the electronic states of carotenoids in this symmetry group may lead to a wrong interpretation of experimental data. This conclusion together with the results summarized in the review allows us to advance a consistent model that explains the inactivity of the S
0
→ S
1
transition. Within this model, S
1
is never accessible from S
0
due to the negative synergy of (i) the contributions of double excitations of very low probability, which elevate S
1
energy, and (ii) a non-verticality of the S
0
→ S
1
transition, due to the breaking of Born–Oppenheimer approximation. Certainly, our simple model requires a further experimental and theoretical verification.
Guided droplet transport on synthetic slippery surfaces inspired by a pitcher plant
Authors: Box Finn , Thorogood Chris , Hui Guan Jian
Published: September 2019

We show how anisotropic, grooved features facilitate the trapping and directed transport of droplets on lubricated, liquid-shedding surfaces. Capillary action pins droplets to topographic surface features, enabling transport along the feature while inhibiting motion across (or detachment from) the feature. We demonstrate the robustness of this capillary-based mechanism for directed droplet transport on slippery surfaces by combining experiments on synthetic, lubricant-infused surfaces with observations on the natural trapping surface of a carnivorous pitcher plant. Controlling liquid navigation on synthetic surfaces promises to unlock significant potential in droplet-based technologies. Our observations also offer novel insight into the evolution of the
Nepenthes
pitcher plant, indicating that the ‘pitfall’ trapping mechanism is enhanced by the lubricant-infused, macroscopic grooves on the slippery peristome surface, which guide prey into the trap in a way that is more tightly controlled than previously considered.
Geometric coupling of helicoidal ramps and curvature-inducing proteins in organelle membranes
Authors: Chabanon Morgan , Rangamani Padmini
Published: September 2019

Cellular membranes display an incredibly diverse range of shapes, both in the plasma membrane and at membrane bound organelles. These morphologies are intricately related to cellular functions, enabling and regulating fundamental membrane processes. However, the biophysical mechanisms at the origin of these complex geometries are not fully understood from the standpoint of membrane–protein coupling. In this study, we focused on a minimal model of helicoidal ramps representative of specialized endoplasmic reticulum compartments. Given a helicoidal membrane geometry, we asked what is the distribution of spontaneous curvature required to maintain this shape at mechanical equilibrium? Based on the Helfrich energy of elastic membranes with spontaneous curvature, we derived the shape equation for minimal surfaces, and applied it to helicoids. We showed the existence of switches in the sign of the spontaneous curvature associated with geometric variations of the membrane structures. Furthermore, for a prescribed gradient of spontaneous curvature along the exterior boundaries, we identified configurations of the helicoidal ramps that are confined between two infinitely large energy barriers. Overall our results suggest possible mechanisms for geometric control of helicoidal ramps in membrane organelles based on curvature-inducing proteins.
Pressure-induced order–disorder transition in Gd
1.5
Ce
0.5
Ti
2
O
7
pyrochlore
Authors: Niu Jingjing , Wu Xiang , Zhang Haibin , Qin Shan
Published: September 2019

An experimental study on ordered pyrochlore structured Gd
1.5
Ce
0.5
Ti
2
O
7

(
F
d

3
¯

m
)

was carried out up to 45 GPa by synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Experimental results show that Gd
1.5
Ce
0.5
Ti
2
O
7
transfers to a disordered cotunnite-like phase (
Pnma
Z = 4) at approximately 42 GPa. Compared with the end member Gd
2
Ti
2
O
7
, the substitution of Ce
3+
for Gd
3+
increases the transition pressure and the high-pressure stability of the pyrochlore phase. This pressure-induced structure transition is mainly controlled by cationic order–disorder modification, and the cationic radius ratio
r
A
/
r
B
may also be effective for predicting the pyrochlore oxides' high-pressure stability. Two isostructural transitions are observed at 6.5 GPa and 13 GPa, and the unit-cell volume of Gd
1.5
Ce
0.5
Ti
2
O
7
as a function of pressure demonstrates its compression behaviour is rather complex.