We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Chandra imaging, combined with Very Large Telescope MUSE integral field spectroscopy of the counterpart and host galaxy of the first binary neutron star ...merger detected via gravitational-wave emission by LIGO and Virgo, GW170817. The host galaxy, NGC 4993, is an S0 galaxy at z = 0.009783. There is evidence for large, face-on spiral shells in continuum imaging, and edge-on spiral features visible in nebular emission lines. This suggests that NGC 4993 has undergone a relatively recent ( 1 Gyr) "dry" merger. This merger may provide the fuel for a weak active nucleus seen in Chandra imaging. At the location of the counterpart, HST imaging implies there is no globular or young stellar cluster, with a limit of a few thousand solar masses for any young system. The population in the vicinity is predominantly old with 1% of any light arising from a population with ages < 500 Myr . Both the host galaxy properties and those of the transient location are consistent with the distributions seen for short-duration gamma-ray bursts, although the source position lies well within the effective radius ( r e ∼ 3 kpc), providing an re-normalized offset that is closer than ∼ 90 % of short GRBs. For the long delay time implied by the stellar population, this suggests that the kick velocity was significantly less than the galaxy escape velocity. We do not see any narrow host galaxy interstellar medium features within the counterpart spectrum, implying low extinction, and that the binary may lie in front of the bulk of the host galaxy.
•Rural land cover associations with mental health estimated from hybrid models.•Intra-rural change to more natural space associated with mental health change.•Land cover types differentially ...associated with mental health within individuals.•Farmland, uplands and coastal associated with good mental health within individuals.•Broadleaf, grassland, coastal associated with reduced odds of psychiatric caseness.
Exposure to green space is associated with a variety of positive health states. Research to date has focused primarily on ‘generic’ green space in urban areas, where green space is relatively scarce and where it is dominated by playing fields and parks. The current research adds to our understanding with an examination of relationships between different types of green space and mental health in rural areas in England (approximate rural population=4 million). The aggregate land cover classes of Land Cover Map 2007 were linked to rural residential areas (Lower-level Super Output Areas) and then linked to rural participants (n=2020) in the 18-year longitudinal British Household Panel Survey. Random effects regression of mental health (as measured by GHQ12 scores) against land cover enabled effects to be simultaneously estimated from both mean between-individual differences and from within-individual differences over time. The nine natural land cover classes (Broadleaved woodland; Coniferous woodland; Arable; Improved grassland; Semi-natural grassland; Mountain, heath and bog; Saltwater; Freshwater; Coastal) were not significantly associated with differences in mental health between individuals. However, significant relationships were observed between some types of land cover and within-individual change in mental health amongst individuals who relocated during the 18 annual waves of the panel. These findings indicate the presence of important health related ecosystem services from different land cover types that have not previously been investigated and which help more effective spatial planning and land use management.
Periods of edge localized mode (ELM)-free H-mode with increased pedestal pressure and width were observed in the DIII-D tokamak when density fluctuations localized to the region near the separatrix ...were present. Injection of a powder of 45 µm diameter lithium particles increased the duration of the enhanced pedestal phases to up to 350 ms, and also increased the likelihood of a transition to the enhanced phase. Lithium injection at a level sufficient for triggering the extended enhanced phases resulted in significant lithium in the plasma core, but carbon and other higher Z impurities as well as radiated power levels were reduced. Recycling of the working deuterium gas appeared unaffected by this level of lithium injection. The ion scale, k ρs ∼ 0.1-0.2, density fluctuations propagated in the electron drift direction with f ∼ 80 kHz and occurred in bursts every ∼1 ms. The fluctuation bursts correlated with plasma loss resulting in a flattening of the pressure profile in a region near the separatrix. This localized flattening allowed higher overall pedestal pressure at the peeling-ballooning stability limit and higher pressure than expected under the EPED model due to reduction of the pressure gradient below the 'ballooning critical profile'. Reduction of the ion pressure by lithium dilution may contribute to the long ELM-free periods.
Surgical intervention presents a fundamental therapeutic choice in the management of colorectal malignancies. Complications, the most serious one being anastomotic leak (AL), still have detrimental ...effects upon patients’ morbidity and mortality. We aimed to assess whether NSAIDs, and their sub-categories, increase AL in colonic anastomoses and to identify whether this affects specific anastomotic sites.
A systematic search of MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, Web of Science, Science Direct, Google Scholar was conducted between January 1, 1999 till the October 30, 2020. Cohort studies and randomized control trials examining AL events in NSAID-exposed, colorectal cancer patients were included. NSAIDs were grouped according to the 2019 NICE guidelines in non-specific (NS-NSAIDs) and specific COX-2 inhibitors. The primary outcome was AL events in NSAID-exposed patients undergoing operations with either ileocolic, colocolic or colorectal anastomoses. Secondary outcomes included NSAID category-specific AL events and demographic confounding factors increasing AL risk in this patient population.
Fifteen studies involving 25,395 patients were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Of all anastomoses, colocolic anastomoses were found to be statistically more prone to AL events in the NS-NSAID-exposed population OR 3.24 (95% CI 0.98–10.72), p = 0.054. Male gender was an independent confounder increasing AL rate regardless of NSAID exposure.
The association between NSAID exposure and AL in oncology patients remains undetermined. Whilst in present work, colocolic anastomoses appear to be more sensitive to AL events, the observed association may be anastomotic site and NSAID-category dependent.
Abstract
As a novel X-ray focusing technology, lobster-eye micropore optics (MPO) feature both a wide observing field of view and true imaging capability, promising sky monitoring with significantly ...improved sensitivity and spatial resolution in soft X-rays. Since first proposed by Angel, the optics have been extensively studied, developed and trialed over the past decades. In this Letter, we report on the first-light results from a flight experiment of the Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy, a pathfinder of the wide-field X-ray telescope of the Einstein Probe mission. The piggyback imager, launched in 2022 July, has a mostly unvignetted field of view of 18.°6 × 18.°6. Its spatial resolution is in the range of 4′–7′ in FWHM and the focal spot effective area is 2–3 cm
2
, both showing only mild fluctuations across the field of view. We present images of the Galactic center region, Sco X-1, and the diffuse Cygnus Loop nebular taken in snapshot observations over 0.5–4 keV. These are truly wide-field X-ray images of celestial bodies observed, for the first time, by a focusing imaging telescope. Initial analyses of the in-flight data show excellent agreement between the observed images and the on-ground calibration and simulations. The instrument and its characterization are briefly described, as well as the flight experiment. The results provide a solid basis for the development of the present and proposed wide-field X-ray missions using lobster-eye MPO.
Objectives: The luminal surface of the gut is lined with a monolayer of epithelial cells that acts as a nutrient absorptive engine and protective barrier. To maintain its integrity and ...functionality, the epithelium is renewed every few days. Theoretical models are powerful tools that can be used to test hypotheses concerning the regulation of this renewal process, to investigate how its dysfunction can lead to loss of homeostasis and neoplasia, and to identify potential therapeutic interventions. Here we propose a new multiscale model for crypt dynamics that links phenomena occurring at the subcellular, cellular and tissue levels of organisation.
Methods: At the subcellular level, deterministic models characterise molecular networks, such as cell‐cycle control and Wnt signalling. The output of these models determines the behaviour of each epithelial cell in response to intra‐, inter‐ and extracellular cues. The modular nature of the model enables us to easily modify individual assumptions and analyse their effects on the system as a whole.
Results: We perform virtual microdissection and labelling‐index experiments, evaluate the impact of various model extensions, obtain new insight into clonal expansion in the crypt, and compare our predictions with recent mitochondrial DNA mutation data.
Conclusions: We demonstrate that relaxing the assumption that stem‐cell positions are fixed enables clonal expansion and niche succession to occur. We also predict that the presence of extracellular factors near the base of the crypt alone suffices to explain the observed spatial variation in nuclear beta‐catenin levels along the crypt axis.
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by deletions within a tandem array of D4Z4 repeats on chromosome 4q35. In addition to muscle degeneration, most patients with FSHD develop ...abnormalities of the retinal vasculature. Previous work has suggested that muscle degeneration in FSHD results from increased expression of genes proximal to the deletion, including FRG1.
To reexamine this mechanism and identify pathways that are abnormally regulated early in the disease process.
We prospectively studied gene expression in skeletal muscle in patients with FSHD (n = 19) vs healthy individuals (n = 30) and patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (n = 12). We used oligonucleotide microarrays for global analysis of gene expression and reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) to assess expression or alternative splicing for particular genes.
Expression of FRG1 was not increased in patients with FSHD, either by microarray analysis or quantitative RT-PCR. Among genes on 4q35, only LRP2BP showed upregulation that was specific to FSHD. However, neither LRP2BP nor FRG1 showed imbalance of allelic expression by RT-PCR. After filtering out genes that showed similar dysregulation in other forms of muscular dystrophy, only 44 genes were specifically upregulated early in FSHD. Among these, 34 genes were characterized or partially characterized, of which 11 (32%) had a role in vascular smooth muscle or endothelial cells.
Expression of genes on chromosome 4q35 was normally regulated in the early stages of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Our results support a possible link between muscular dystrophy and retinal vasculopathy in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
Two cremophor-free microemulsions, lecithin:butanol:myvacet oil:water (LBMW) and capmul:myvacet oil:water (CMW) for paclitaxel (PAC) were developed for intravenous (i.v.) administration. Six ...surfactants and four oils were screened with various combinations for maximal water incorporation and PAC solubility. Microemulsion regions were subsequently determined in ternary phase diagrams. Cytotoxicity in an MDA-M231 human breast cancer cell line and hemolytic potential were assessed in these systems compared to Taxol (cremophor EL:ethanol, 1:1, 6 mgPAC/ml). The maximal water incorporation into the lecithin:butanol surfactant blend was greater than that incorporated into capmul when combined with the oils screened. PAC solubility in myvacet oil was increased 1389-fold over its aqueous solubility. LBMW had a larger microemulsion region (46.5% of total ternary phase diagram) than that seen with CMW (18.6%). The droplet size of the dispersed phase was 111.5 (4.18)nm for LBMW and 110.3 (8.09)nm for CMW. Cytotoxicity of PAC was in decreasing order of: Taxol>LBMW>CMW. The IC50 values for LBMW and CMW ranged from 4.5 to 5.7 and >10 microM, respectively, as compared to that of Taxol (1.3 to 1.8 microM). Eighty-three percent, 68%, and 63% of red blood cells remain unlysed at a formulation volume to blood ratio of 0.035 in LBMW, CMW and Taxol. Promising microemulsions, LBMW and CMW were developed that can incorporate approximately 12 mg/g of PAC, substantially higher than its aqueous solubility (10.8 microg/ml) and that in the Taxol vehicle (6 mg/ml). PAC retained its cytotoxicity in the LBMW and CMW and was less likely to cause hemolysis compared to Taxol. This higher drug loading results in a smaller vehicle volume in required doses of these formulations and potentially less vehicle-related side effects are anticipated.
Though there have been numerous studies on the effect of nitrogen (N) fertilization on soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr., relatively few have investigated early season N application in the unique ...environment of the northern Great Plains. The objective of this research was to investigate the impact of starter N fertilization on soybean yield and quality in this cool environment. To achieve this objective a field experiment was established within a 2‐yr corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean rotation, using a split‐plot design with four replications. Whole plots were tillage no‐tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) with starter fertilizer (N source by rate) as the split plot treatments. Nitrogen was band applied at planting as either ammonium nitrate (AN) or urea (UR), at rates to supply 0, 8, 16, and 24 kg N ha−1. Yields were greater for the 2004 growing season than 2002 and 2003, possibly due to more favorable environmental conditions. In 2 of the 3 yr there was an increase in grain yield and early (V3–V4 and R1) plant biomass and plant N due to starter N. The initial increase in plant vigor resulted in a grain yield increase compared to the no N treatment. Analysis pooled over the 3 yr of the experiment showed an average yield increase of 6% for the 16 kg N ha−1 rate, compared to the no N treatment, with no difference in grain N or oil concentration. This research demonstrates that applying N as starter has the potential to increase soybean yield and early plant growth, but this may or may not translate into improved grain quality in the unique environments of the northern Great Plains.
SARS-CoV-2 emerged in late 2019 as a zoonotic infection of humans, and proceeded to cause a worldwide pandemic of historic magnitude. Here, we use a simple epidemiological model and consider the full ...range of initial estimates from published studies for infection and recovery rates, seasonality, changes in mobility, the effectiveness of masks and the fraction of people wearing them. Monte Carlo simulations are used to simulate the progression of possible pandemics and we show a match for the real progression of the pandemic during 2020 with an
of 0.91. The results show that the combination of masks and changes in mobility avoided approximately 248.3 million (
= 31.2 million) infections in the US before vaccinations became available.
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