The magnetic field in the local interstellar medium does not follow the large-scale Galactic magnetic field. The local magnetic field has probably been distorted by the Local Bubble, a cavity of hot ...ionized gas extending all around the Sun and surrounded by a shell of cold neutral gas and dust. However, so far no conclusive association between the local magnetic field and the Local Bubble has been established. Here we develop an analytical model for the magnetic field in the shell of the Local Bubble, which we represent as an inclined spheroid, off-centred from the Sun. We fit the model to Planck dust polarized emission observations within 30° of the Galactic poles. We find a solution that is consistent with a highly deformed magnetic field, with significantly different directions towards the north and south Galactic poles. This work sets a methodological framework for modelling the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the magnetic field in the local interstellar medium, which is a most awaited input for large-scale Galactic magnetic field models.
Pardo River (Brazil) is suffering from an important anthropogenic impact due to the pressure of highly populated areas and the influence of sugarcane cultivation. The objective of the present study ...was to determine the levels of 13 trace elements (As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, Tl, Sn, V and Zn) in samples of surface water and sediments from the Pardo River. Furthermore, the human health risks associated with exposure to those metals through oral intake and dermal absorption were also evaluated. Spatial and seasonal trends of the data were closely analyzed from a probabilistic approach. Manganese showed the highest mean concentrations in both water and sediments, remarking the incidence of the agricultural activity and the geological characteristics within the basin. Thallium and arsenic were identified as two priority pollutants, being the most important contributors to the Hazard Index (HI). Since non-carcinogenic risks due to thallium exposure slightly exceeded international guidelines (HI>1), a special effort should be made on this trace element. However, the current concentrations of arsenic, a carcinogenic element, were in accordance to acceptable lifetime risks. Nowadays, there is a clear increasing growth in human population and economic activities in the Pardo River, whose waters have become a serious strategic alternative for the potential supply of drinking water. Therefore, environmental monitoring studies are required not only to assure that the current state of pollution of Pardo River does not mean a risk for the riverside population, but also to assess the potential trends in the environmental levels of those elements.
•A chemical characterization of the Pardo River (Brazil) was performed here.•Manganese showed the highest mean levels in both surface water and sediments.•Thallium and As were the main contributors to the Hazard Index.•Cancer risks due to As exposure were in accordance to acceptable lifetime risks.•Because of the data uncertainty, our results must be considered only as preliminary.
A novel anaerobic, thermophilic, carbon monoxide-utilizing bacterium, strain E3-OT, was isolated from anaerobic sludge from a municipal solid waste digester. Cells were straight rods, 0.6–1 µm in ...diameter and 2–3 µm in length and grew as single cells or in pairs. Cells formed round terminal endospores. The temperature range for growth was 50–70 °C, with an optimum at 65 °C. The pH range for growth was 5.7–8.0, with an optimum at 7.5. Strain E3-OT had the ability to ferment various sugars, such as fructose, galactose, glucose, mannose, raffinose, ribose, sucrose and xylose, producing mainly H2 and acetate. In addition, the isolate was able to grow with CO as the sole carbon and energy source. CO oxidation was coupled to H2 and CO2 formation. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 54.6 mol%. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, this bacterium is most closely related to Moorella glycerini (97 % sequence identity). Based on the physiological features and phylogenetic analysis, it is proposed that strain E3-OT should be classified in the genus Moorella as a representative of a novel species, Moorella stamsii. The type strain of Moorella stamsii is E3-OT ( = DSM 26271T = CGMCC 1.5181T).
We present a Radio Recombination Line (RRL) survey of the Galactic plane from the H i Parkes All-sky Survey and associated Zone of Avoidance survey, which mapped the region l = 196°–0°–52° and ...|b| ≤ 5° at 1.4 GHz and 14.4 arcmin resolution. We combine three RRLs, H168α, H167α, and H166α to derive fully sampled maps of the diffuse ionized emission along the inner Galactic plane. The velocity information, at a resolution of 20 km s−1, allows us to study the spatial distribution of the ionized gas and compare it with that of the molecular gas, as traced by CO. The longitude–velocity diagram shows that the RRL emission is mostly associated with CO gas from the molecular ring and is concentrated within the inner 30° of longitude. A map of the free–free emission in this region of the Galaxy is derived from the line-integrated RRL emission, assuming an electron temperature gradient with Galactocentric radius of 496 ± 100 K kpc−1. Based on the thermal continuum map, we extracted a catalogue of 317 compact (≲15 arcmin) sources, with flux densities, sizes, and velocities. We report the first RRL observations of the southern ionized lobe in the Galactic Centre. The line profiles and velocities suggest that this degree-scale structure is in rotation. We also present new evidence of diffuse ionized gas in the 3-kpc arm. Helium and carbon RRLs are detected in this survey. The He line is mostly observed towards H ii regions, whereas the C line is also detected further away from the source of ionization. These data represent the first observations of diffuse C RRLs in the Galactic plane at a frequency of 1.4 GHz.
Importance
Aging generates changes over the years. Because of this, the musculoskeletal system is directly degraded and suffer deficits in its performance in elderly patients with Sarcopenia, as this ...condition is characterized by a decrease in muscle mass and function.
Objective
Correlate the motor reaction time and functional skills of non-sarcopenic, pre-sarcopenic and sarcopenic elderly women, and analyze influence on the risk of falls.
Design
Cross-sectional observational analytical study, following the methodological strategies of STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology), carried out under the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the Unievangélica University, no. 3.694.235/2019.
Setting
Participants were evaluated regarding: cognitive status, level of physical activity, fear of falling, body composition, motor reaction time, static and dynamic balance, gait kinetics, strength and endurance of the lower limbs and finally handgrip strength.
Participants
A total of 59 volunteer elderly women were assessed following the diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia proposed by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP).
Results
The results show that there was a greater difference in motor reaction time between the non-sarcopenic and sarcopenic elderly women due to the executing organ being damaged by the presence of sarcopenia, causing motor response to slowdown. Functional deficit, fear of falling and greater risk of falls were observed in the sarcopenic group, under the harmful influence of increased motor reaction time.
Conclusion
Sarcopenic elderly women present increased motor reaction time, that is, slowed motor responses due to decreased muscle mass, strength and impaired musculature, which generate functional deficits that contribute to an increased risk of falls.
The healthy human brain is a mosaic of varied genomes. Long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1 or L1) retrotransposition is known to create mosaicism by inserting L1 sequences into new locations of ...somatic cell genomes. Using a machine learning-based, single-cell sequencing approach, we discovered that somatic L1-associated variants (SLAVs) are composed of two classes: L1 retrotransposition insertions and retrotransposition-independent L1-associated variants. We demonstrate that a subset of SLAVs comprises somatic deletions generated by L1 endonuclease cutting activity. Retrotransposition-independent rearrangements in inherited L1s resulted in the deletion of proximal genomic regions. These rearrangements were resolved by microhomology-mediated repair, which suggests that L1-associated genomic regions are hotspots for somatic copy number variants in the brain and therefore a heritable genetic contributor to somatic mosaicism. We demonstrate that SLAVs are present in crucial neural genes, such as DLG2 (also called PSD93), and affect 44-63% of cells of the cells in the healthy brain.
Predicted demographic, climatic and socio-economic changes will require adaptations of existing water supply and wastewater disposal systems. Especially in rural areas, these new challenges will ...affect the functionality of the present systems. This paper presents a joint interdisciplinary research project with the objective of developing an innovative software-based optimization and decision support system for the implementation of long-term transformations of existing infrastructures of water supply, wastewater and energy. The concept of the decision support and optimization tool is described and visualization methods for the presentation of results are illustrated. The model is tested in a rural case study region in the Southwest of Germany. A transformation strategy for a decentralized wastewater treatment concept and its visualization are presented for a model village.
The polarization properties of radio sources at very low frequencies (<200 MHz) have not been widely measured, but the new generation of low-frequency radio telescopes, including the Low Frequency ...Array (LOFAR: a Square Kilometre Array Low pathfinder), now gives us the opportunity to investigate these properties. In this paper, we report on the preliminary development of a data reduction pipeline to carry out polarization processing and Faraday tomography for data from the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey (LOTSS) and present the results of this pipeline from the LOTSS preliminary data release region (10h45m–15h30m right ascension, 45°–57° declination, 570 square degrees). We have produced a catalog of 92 polarized radio sources at 150 MHz at 4.′3 resolution and 1 mJy rms sensitivity, which is the largest catalog of polarized sources at such low frequencies. We estimate a lower limit to the polarized source surface density at 150 MHz, with our resolution and sensitivity, of 1 source per 6.2 square degrees. We find that our Faraday depth measurements are in agreement with previous measurements and have significantly smaller errors. Most of our sources show significant depolarization compared to 1.4 GHz, but there is a small population of sources with low depolarization indicating that their polarized emission is highly localized in Faraday depth. We predict that an extension of this work to the full LOTSS data would detect at least 3400 polarized sources using the same methods, and probably considerably more with improved data processing.
•Parameterizing the canopy cover curve supports accurate ET and yield estimations.•Accuracy of predictions improves when parameterization includes soil water or ET observations.•Good biomass and ...yield predictions were obtained after careful model parameterization.•When using model default parameters predictions are less accurate but acceptable.•The model is good for biomass and yield predictions but less good for soil water simulations.
Several maize field experiments, including deficit and full irrigation, were performed in Ribatejo region, Portugal and were used to assess water stress impacts on yields using the AquaCrop model. The model was assessed after its parameterization using field observations relative to leaf area index (LAI), crop evapotranspiration, soil water content, biomass and final yield data and also using default parameters. LAI data were used to calibrate the canopy cover (CC) curve. Results showed that when the CC curve is properly calibrated, with root mean square errors (RMSE) smaller than 7.4%, model simulations, namely relative to crop evapotranspiration and its partition, show an improved accuracy. The model performance relative to soil water balance simulation revealed a bias in estimation but low estimation errors, with RMSE<13% of the total available soil water. However the model tends to overestimate transpiration and underestimate soil evaporation. A good model performance was obtained relative to biomass and yield predictions, with RMSE lower than 11% and 9% of the average observed biomass and yield, respectively. Overall results show adequacy of AquaCrop for estimating maize biomass and yield under deficit irrigation conditions, mainly when an appropriate parameterization is adopted. The model showed less good performance when using the default parameters but errors are likely acceptable when field data are not available.
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