According to the cosmological principle (CP), Universal large-scale structure is homogeneous and isotropic. The observable Universe, however, shows complex structures even on very large scales. The ...recent discoveries of structures significantly exceeding the transition scale of 370 Mpc pose a challenge to the CP. We report here the discovery of the largest regular formation in the observable Universe; a ring with a diameter of 1720 Mpc, displayed by 9 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), exceeding by a factor of 5 the transition scale to the homogeneous and isotropic distribution. The ring has a major diameter of 43° and a minor diameter of 30° at a distance of 2770 Mpc in the 0.78 < z < 0.86 redshift range, with a probability of 2 × 10−6 of being the result of a random fluctuation in the GRB count rate. Evidence suggests that this feature is the projection of a shell on to the plane of the sky. Voids and string-like formations are common outcomes of large-scale structure. However, these structures have maximum sizes of 150 Mpc, which are an order of magnitude smaller than the observed GRB ring diameter. Evidence in support of the shell interpretation requires that temporal information of the transient GRBs be included in the analysis. This ring-shaped feature is large enough to contradict the CP. The physical mechanism responsible for causing it is unknown.
The new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been emerged as a rapidly spreading pandemic. The disease is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person through respiratory droplets produced when ...an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. The pathogen of COVID-19 is the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It infects the cells binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor (ACE2) which is expressed by cells throughout the airways as targets for cellular entry. Although the majority of persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 experience symptoms of mild upper respiratory tract infection, in some people infections of the acinar airways result in severe, potentially fatal pneumonia. However, the induction of COVID-19 pneumonia requires that SARS-CoV-2 reaches the acinar airways. While huge efforts have been made to understand the spread of the disease as well as the pathogenesis following cellular entry, much less attention is paid to how SARS-CoV-2 from the environment reach the receptors of the target cells. The aim of the present study is to characterize the deposition distribution of SARS-CoV-2 in the airways upon exposure to cough-generated droplets and aerosol particles. For this purpose, the Stochastic Lung Deposition Model has been applied. Particle size distribution, breathing parameters supposing normal breathing through the nose, and viral loads were taken from the literature. We found that the probability of direct infection of the acinar airways due to inhalation of particles emitted by a bystander cough is very low. As the number of viruses deposited in the extrathoracic airways is about 7 times higher than in the acinar airways, we concluded that in most cases COVID-19 pneumonia must be preceded by SARS-CoV-2 infection of the upper airways. Our results suggest that without the enhancement of viral load in the upper airways, COVID-19 would be much less dangerous. The period between the onset of initial symptoms and the potential clinical deterioration could provide an opportunity for prevention of pneumonia by blocking or significantly reducing the transport of viruses towards the acinar airways. Therefore, even non-specific treatment forms like disinfection of the throat and nasal and oral mucosa may effectively keep the viral load of the upper airways low enough to avoid or prolong the progression of the disease. In addition, using a tissue or cloth in order to absorb droplets and aerosol particles emitted by own coughs of infected patients before re-inhalation is highly recommended even if they are alone in quarantine.
The biology of cave‐dwelling species is a fascinating area, yet it is understudied due to logistic constraints, especially in regard to aquatic organisms. The olm (Proteus anguinus) is the largest ...known troglobiont vertebrate, showing extreme life‐history characteristics such as a possible lifespan of over 100 years and a reproductive cycle of over 12 years. However, most studies carried out on the species to date are based on laboratory studies, resulting in a severe lack of ecological data from natural populations studied in their original habitat. We applied a capture–mark–recapture approach on an Eastern Herzegovinian population for eight years to reveal its spatial strategy and general movement patterns. We found that P. anguinus is sedentary, can often be found within a few square metres over several years, and their moving distance is uncorrelated with the time elapsed between recaptures. Previous laboratory studies constrained to confined space and artificial environments have already suggested site fidelity and our results from a natural population confirm this. The low reproductive activity of the species together with the reported extreme site fidelity makes this top predator of aquatic cave communities highly vulnerable and a sensitive bio‐indicator of habitat‐changing human activities.
This is the first capture–mark–recapture study on a natural population of the obligate aquatic cave‐dwelling olm (Proteus anguinus), known for its extreme life‐history characteristics (lifespan over 100 years, reproductive cycle over 10 years). We observed extreme site fidelity; individuals moved typically less than 15 m over years.
After 568 AD the Avars settled in the Carpathian Basin and founded the Avar Qaganate that was an important power in Central Europe until the 9th century. Part of the Avar society was probably of ...Asian origin; however, the localisation of their homeland is hampered by the scarcity of historical and archaeological data. Here, we study mitogenome and Y chromosomal variability of twenty-six individuals, a number of them representing a well-characterised elite group buried at the centre of the Carpathian Basin more than a century after the Avar conquest. The studied group has maternal and paternal genetic affinities to several ancient and modern East-Central Asian populations. The majority of the mitochondrial DNA variability represents Asian haplogroups (C, D, F, M, R, Y and Z). The Y-STR variability of the analysed elite males belongs only to five lineages, three N-Tat with mostly Asian parallels and two Q haplotypes. The homogeneity of the Y chromosomes reveals paternal kinship as a cohesive force in the organisation of the Avar elite strata on both social and territorial level. Our results indicate that the Avar elite arrived in the Carpathian Basin as a group of families, and remained mostly endogamous for several generations after the conquest.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has propelled the field of aerosol science to the forefront, particularly the central role of virus-laden respiratory droplets and aerosols. The pandemic has also ...highlighted the critical need, and value for,
(that inform policymakers to develop public health responses)
(that inform the public and health care providers how individuals develop respiratory infections). Here, we review existing data and models of generation of respiratory droplets and aerosols, their exhalation and inhalation, and the fate of infectious droplet transport and deposition throughout the respiratory tract. We then articulate how aerosol transport modeling can serve as a bridge between and guide calibration of within-host and epidemiological models, forming a comprehensive tool to formulate and test hypotheses about respiratory tract exposure and infection within and between individuals.
Most of the early Hungarian tribes originated from the Volga-Kama and South-Ural regions, where they were composed of a mixed population based on historical, philological and archaeological data. We ...present here the uniparental genetic makeup of the mediaeval era of these regions that served as a melting pot for ethnic groups with different linguistic and historical backgrounds. Representing diverse cultural contexts, the new genetic data originate from ancient proto-Ob-Ugric people from Western Siberia (6th-13th century), the pre-Conquest period and subsisting Hungarians from the Volga-Ural region (6th-14th century) and their neighbours. By examining the eastern archaeology traits of Hungarian prehistory, we also study their genetic composition and origin in an interdisciplinary framework. We analyzed 110 deep-sequenced mitogenomes and 42 Y-chromosome haplotypes from 18 archaeological sites in Russia. The results support the studied groups' genetic relationships regardless of geographical distances, suggesting large-scale mobility. We detected long-lasting genetic connections between the sites representing the Kushnarenkovo and Chiyalik cultures and the Carpathian Basin Hungarians and confirmed the Uralic transmission of several East Eurasian uniparental lineages in their gene pool. Based on phylogenetics, we demonstrate and model the connections and splits of the studied Volga-Ural and conqueror groups. Early Hungarians and their alliances conquered the Carpathian Basin around 890 AD. Re-analysis of the Hungarian conquerors' maternal gene pool reveals numerous surviving maternal relationships in both sexes; therefore, we conclude that men and women came to the Carpathian Basin together, and although they were subsequently genetically fused into the local population, certain eastern lineages survived for centuries.
Balancing in a distributed generation network is an increasingly difficult task because of the increasing number of residential prosumers on the power network. This paper proposes a framework for the ...estimation, as well as the prediction of the power flexibility of residential prosumers. In order to quantify the residential buildings’ demand flexibility, a thermoelectric simulation model of a typical residential house was developed based on first engineering principles. Based on the calculated flexibility values, a simple prediction method was used to give a short-term forecast of the prosumer flexibility. The results were validated by simulation experiments incorporating real data for four different scenarios.
Abstract
Low dose hyper-radiosensitivity and induced radioresistance are primarily observed in surviving fractions of cell populations exposed to ionizing radiation, plotted as the function of ...absorbed dose. Several biophysical models have been developed to quantitatively describe these phenomena. However, there is a lack of raw, openly available experimental data to support the development and validation of quantitative models. The aim of this study was to set up a database of experimental data from the public literature. Using Google Scholar search, 46 publications with 101 datasets on the dose-dependence of surviving fractions, with clear evidence of low dose hyper-radiosensitivity, were identified. Surviving fractions, their uncertainties, and the corresponding absorbed doses were digitized from graphs of the publications. The characteristics of the cell line and the irradiation were also recorded, along with the parameters of the linear-quadratic model and/or the induced repair model if they were provided. The database is available in STORE
DB
, and can be used for meta-analysis, for comparison with new experiments, and for development and validation of biophysical models.
The Avars settled the Carpathian Basin in 567/68 CE, establishing an empire lasting over 200 years. Who they were and where they came from is highly debated. Contemporaries have disagreed about ...whether they were, as they claimed, the direct successors of the Mongolian Steppe Rouran empire that was destroyed by the Turks in ∼550 CE. Here, we analyze new genome-wide data from 66 pre-Avar and Avar-period Carpathian Basin individuals, including the 8 richest Avar-period burials and further elite sites from Avar’s empire core region. Our results provide support for a rapid long-distance trans-Eurasian migration of Avar-period elites. These individuals carried Northeast Asian ancestry matching the profile of preceding Mongolian Steppe populations, particularly a genome available from the Rouran period. Some of the later elite individuals carried an additional non-local ancestry component broadly matching the steppe, which could point to a later migration or reflect greater genetic diversity within the initial migrant population.
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•Long-distance and rapid trans-Eurasian migration during the 7th century Avar period•Striking genetic similarity between early Avar elites and the Rouran in Mongolia•Substantial genetic variation mirroring social and micro-geographic structure•High eastern Eurasian ancestry maintained in the Avar period elites for 200 years
The Avars were a mysterious population that settled the Carpathian Basin in 567/68 CE, and their origins have remained enigmatic. Genomic analyses of 66 pre-Avar and Avar-period individuals, integrated with archaeological and historical data, suggest that Avar elites underwent a long-distance, trans-Eurasian migration from the East Asian steppe.
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