Observations of neutron-star mergers with distinct messengers, including gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals, can be used to study the behavior of matter denser than an atomic nucleus and ...to measure the expansion rate of the Universe as quantified by the Hubble constant. We performed a joint analysis of the gravitational-wave event GW170817 with its electromagnetic counterparts AT2017gfo and GRB170817A, and the gravitational-wave event GW190425, both originating from neutron-star mergers. We combined these with previous measurements of pulsars using x-ray and radio observations, and nuclear-theory computations using chiral effective field theory, to constrain the neutron-star equation of state. We found that the radius of a 1.4-solar mass neutron star is Formula: see text km at 90% confidence and the Hubble constant is Formula: see text at 1σ uncertainty.
Abstract
In the past few years, new observations of neutron stars (NSs) and NS mergers have provided a wealth of data that allow one to constrain the equation of state (EOS) of nuclear matter at ...densities above nuclear saturation density. However, most observations were based on NSs with masses of about 1.4
M
⊙
, probing densities up to ∼three to four times the nuclear saturation density. Even higher densities are probed inside massive NSs such as PSR J0740+6620. Very recently, new radio observations provided an update to the mass estimate for PSR J0740+6620, and X-ray observations by the NICER and XMM telescopes constrained its radius. Based on these new measurements, we revisit our previous nuclear physics multimessenger astrophysics constraints and derive updated constraints on the EOS describing the NS interior. By combining astrophysical observations of two radio pulsars, two NICER measurements, the two gravitational-wave detections GW170817 and GW190425, detailed modeling of the kilonova AT 2017gfo, and the gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A, we are able to estimate the radius of a typical 1.4
M
⊙
NS to be
11.94
−
0.87
+
0.76
km
at 90% confidence. Our analysis allows us to revisit the upper bound on the maximum mass of NSs and disfavors the presence of a strong first-order phase transition from nuclear matter to exotic forms of matter, such as quark matter, inside NSs.
: Propensity score (PS) analysis is increasingly being used in observational studies, especially in some cancer studies where random assignment is not feasible. This systematic review evaluates the ...use and reporting quality of PS analysis in oncology studies.
: We searched PubMed to identify the use of PS methods in cancer studies (CS) and cancer surgical studies (CSS) in major medical, cancer, and surgical journals over time and critically evaluated 33 CS published in top medical and cancer journals in 2014 and 2015 and 306 CSS published up to November 26, 2015, without earlier date limits. The quality of reporting in PS analysis was evaluated. It was also compared over time and among journals with differing impact factors. All statistical tests were two-sided.
More than 50% of the publications with PS analysis from the past decade occurred within the past two years. Of the studies critically evaluated, a considerable proportion did not clearly provide the variables used to estimate PS (CS 12.1%, CSS 8.8%), incorrectly included non baseline variables (CS 3.4%, CSS 9.3%), neglected the comparison of baseline characteristics (CS 21.9%, CSS 15.6%), or did not report the matching algorithm utilized (CS 19.0%, CSS 36.1%). In CSS, the reporting of the matching algorithm improved in 2014 and 2015 ( P = .04), and the reporting of variables used to estimate PS was better in top surgery journals ( P = .008). However, there were no statistically significant differences for the inclusion of non baseline variables and reporting of comparability of baseline characteristics.
The use of PS in cancer studies has dramatically increased recently, but there is substantial room for improvement in the quality of reporting even in top journals. Herein we have proposed reporting guidelines for PS analyses that are broadly applicable to different areas of medical research that will allow better evaluation and comparison across studies applying this approach.
Abstract
The observation of a compact object with a mass of 2.50–2.67
M
⊙
on 2019 August 14, by the LIGO Scientific and Virgo collaborations (LVC) has the potential to improve our understanding of ...the supranuclear equation of state. While the gravitational-wave analysis of the LVC suggests that GW190814 likely was a binary black hole system, the secondary component could also have been the heaviest neutron star observed to date. We use our previously derived nuclear-physics-multimessenger astrophysics framework to address the nature of this object. Based on our findings, we determine GW190814 to be a binary black hole merger with a probability of >99.9%. Even if we weaken previously employed constraints on the maximum mass of neutron stars, the probability of a binary black hole origin is still ∼81%. Furthermore, we study the impact that this observation has on our understanding of the nuclear equation of state by analyzing the allowed region in the mass–radius diagram of neutron stars for both a binary black hole or neutron star–black hole scenario. We find that the unlikely scenario in which the secondary object was a neutron star requires rather stiff equations of state with a maximum speed of sound
times the speed of light, while the binary black hole scenario does not offer any new insight.
Multimodal enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) regimens have improved outcomes from colorectal surgery.
We report the application of ERAS to patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC).
...Prospective collection of outcomes from consecutive patients undergoing RC at a single institution.
Twenty-six components including prehabilitation exercise, same day admission, carbohydrate fluid loading, targeted intraoperative fluid resuscitation, regional local anaesthesia, cessation of nasogastric tubes, omitting oral bowel preparation, avoiding drain use, early mobilisation, chewing gum use, and audit.
Primary outcomes were length of stay and readmission rate. Secondary outcomes included intraoperative blood loss, transfusion rates, survival, and histopathological findings.
Four hundred and fifty-three consecutive patients underwent RC, including 393 (87%) with ERAS. Length of stay was shorter with ERAS (median interquartile range: 8 6–13 d) than without (18 13–25, p<0.001). Patients with ERAS had lower blood loss (ERAS: 600 383–969 ml vs 1050 900–1575 ml for non-ERAS, p<0.001), lower transfusion rates (ERAS: 8.1% vs 25%, chi-square test, p<0.001), and fewer readmissions (ERAS: 15% vs 25%, chi-square test, p=0.04) than those without. Histopathological parameters (eg, tumour stage, node count, and margin state) and survival outcomes did not differ with ERAS use (all p>0.1). Multivariable analysis revealed ERAS use was (p=0.002) independently associated with length of stay.
The use of ERAS pathways was associated with lower intraoperative blood loss and faster discharge for patients undergoing RC. These changes did not increase readmission rates or alter oncological outcomes.
Recovery after major bladder surgery can be improved by using enhanced recovery pathways. Patients managed by these pathways have shorter length of stays, lower blood loss, and lower transfusion rates. Their adoption should be encouraged.
We found that changes to the radical cystectomy recovery pathway made dramatic improvements to patient outcomes. In particular, changing recovery pathways lead to shorter length of stay, lower blood loss and transfusion rates, and fewer readmissions after surgery, without impacting on cancer treatment outcomes.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no cure. Clinical presentation is characterized by postural instability, resting tremors, and gait problems that result from ...progressive loss of A9 dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been implicated as a risk factor for several neurodegenerative diseases, but the strongest evidence is linked to development of PD. Mild TBI (mTBI), is the most common and is defined by minimal, if any, loss of consciousness and the absence of significant observable damage to the brain tissue. mTBI is responsible for a 56% higher risk of developing PD in U.S. Veterans and the risk increases with severity of injury. While the mounting evidence from human studies suggests a link between TBI and PD, fundamental questions as to whether TBI nucleates PD pathology or accelerates PD pathology in vulnerable populations remains unanswered. Several promising lines of research point to inflammation, metabolic dysregulation, and protein accumulation as potential mechanisms through which TBI can initiate or accelerate PD. Amyloid precursor protein (APP), alpha synuclein (α-syn), hyper-phosphorylated Tau, and TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), are some of the most frequently reported proteins upregulated following a TBI and are also closely linked to PD. Recently, upregulation of Leucine Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2), has been found in the brain of mice following a TBI. Subset of Rab proteins were identified as biological substrates of LRRK2, a protein also extensively linked to late onset PD. Inhibition of LRRK2 was found to be neuroprotective in PD and TBI models. The goal of this review is to survey current literature concerning the mechanistic overlap between TBI and PD with a particular focus on inflammation, metabolic dysregulation, and aforementioned proteins. This review will also cover the application of rodent TBI models to further our understanding of the relationship between TBI and PD.
Density functional theory is used to investigate the elastic and optical properties as well as the crystal and electronic structures of two-dimensional Ti
2
CT
2
and Ti
3
C
2
T
2
(T = F, O, and OH) ...MXene monolayers. It is found that the elastic stiffness, optical response, crystal structure and the electronic structure show strong dependence on the surface terminated groups often formed with MXene during the etching process. The elastic stiffness maintains only with the surface termination of O atoms, but a large degradation is present in the surface terminations of F and OH atoms. The low adsorption and reflectivity in the range from infrared to ultraviolet rays account for the high transmittance of Ti
3
C
2
T
2
that has been experimentally observed, and it is predicted that Ti
2
CT
2
will have higher optical transmittance in this range. The calculations also demonstrate the presence of the optical bandgap in Ti
2
CO
2
, which renders its potential applications in optical and electronic devices.
The low adsorption and reflectivity from infrared to ultraviolet rays account for the high transmittance of Ti
3
C
2
T
2
that has been experimentally observed, and it is predicted that Ti
2
CT
2
will have higher optical transmittance in this range.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
Surface chemical reactions of highly functional biomass derivatives such as furans with oxygenated ligands are often considered in terms of the chemistry of their individual functional groups, with ...little focus on how multifunctionality affects surface chemistry. To probe these effects on functionalized furans, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to study the thermal chemistry of furfural, C4H3(CHO)O, and furfuryl alcohol, C4H3(CH2OH)O on Pd(111). The TPD results indicate that furfural undergoes decomposition to produce furan, propylene, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen. Furfuryl alcohol forms the same products but also undergoes an unexpected C–O scission process that yields methylfuran and water. Together with DFT calculations, these results indicate that furfuryl alcohol can decompose through a surface furfural intermediate, similar to the reaction pathway observed for simple alcohols such as ethanol. The additional methylfuran pathway, however, is not observed for simple alcohols. In addition, the production of propylene suggests that substitution of the furan ring strongly affects the available reaction pathways, since TPD of furan does not show any propylene evolution. TPD experiments conducted with coadsorbed deuterium provide additional information on the reaction mechanism and suggest that methylfuran formation may be assisted by interactions between adsorbates. Furthermore, observed trends in the isotopic product distribution together with a thermochemical reaction pathway constructed using DFT indicate that the presence of oxygenated pendant groups on the furan ring strongly influences the chemistry of the ring. The importance of these mechanisms for catalytic reactions of sugar derivatives such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural are discussed.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
The performance of supported metal catalysts can depend on many factors, including metal particle size and dispersion and metal–support interactions, and differentiation of these effects is ...challenging because of their interwoven relationship. Copper/ceria catalysts are well-known redox catalysts studied in the conversion of CO and CO2 via oxidation and/or reduction pathways. The redox behaviors of each species, Cu-CuO and CeO x -CeO2, are often suggested to be interlinked, allowing ceria-supported copper domains to outperform copper species on other, nonredox active supports. In this work, the catalytic activity of nanosized Cu supported on either cerium oxide or mesoporous silica is explored using samples where the Cu weight loading, particle size, and dispersion of Cu are held constant to highlight the impact of the two supports on catalytic performance without additional influencing factors. The Cu/CeO2 catalysts are synthesized via a space-confined method to limit the growth of CeO2 particles and to achieve a high dispersion of Cu. Through in situ XRD and XAS, it is shown that the presence of Cu nanoparticles on the CeO2 support lowers the reduction temperature of CeO2, allowing formation of oxygen vacancies at low temperatures <300 °C. The Cu/CeO x catalyst demonstrates 100% CO selectivity in the low temperature (300 °C) and ambient pressure conversion of CO2 to CO, even when approaching equilibrium conversion. Moreover, this catalyst is approximately 4 times more active than the corresponding Cu/SiO2 catalyst with otherwise similar structural attributes. The potential reaction pathways are probed by in situ FTIR and in situ XAS at various temperatures, identifying Cu+-CO species and oxygen vacancies forming under some conditions. The collected experimental evidence also suggests a reaction sequence for CO2 hydrogenation over Cu/CeO x catalysts, consistent with DFT reports in the literature.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Southeast Asian forests are dominated by the tree family Dipterocarpaceae, whose abundance and diversity are key to maintaining the structure and function of tropical forests. Like most biodiversity, ...dipterocarps are threatened by deforestation and climate change, so it is crucial to understand the potential impacts of these threats on current and future dipterocarp distributions. We developed species distribution models (SDMs) for 19 species of dipterocarps in the Philippines, which were projected onto current and two 2070 representative concentration pathway (RCP) climate scenarios, RCP 4.5 and 8.5. Current land cover was incorporated as a post-hoc correction to restrict projections onto intact habitats. Land cover correction alone reduced current species distributions by a median 67%, and within protected areas by 37%. After land cover correction, climate change reduced distributions by a median 16% (RCP 4.5) and 27% (RCP 8.5) at the national level, with similar losses in protected areas. There was a detectable upward elevation shift of species distributions, consisting of suitable habitat losses below 300 m and gains above 600 m. Species-rich stable areas of continued habitat suitability (i.e., climate macrorefugia) fell largely outside current delineations of protected areas, indicating a need to improve protected area planning. This study highlights how SDMs can provide projections that can inform protected area planning in the tropics.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
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