Patients with severe or difficult-to-treat asthma are an understudied population but account for considerable asthma morbidity, mortality, and costs. The Epidemiology and Natural History of Asthma: ...Outcomes and Treatment Regimens (TENOR) study was a large, 3-year, multicenter, observational cohort study of 4756 patients (n = 3489 adults ≥18 years of age, n = 497 adolescents 13-17 years of age, and n = 770 children 6-12 years of age) with severe or difficult-to-treat asthma. TENOR's primary objective was to characterize the natural history of disease in this cohort. Data assessed semiannually and annually included demographics, medical history, comorbidities, asthma control, asthma-related health care use, medication use, lung function, IgE levels, self-reported asthma triggers, and asthma-related quality of life. We highlight the key findings and clinical implications from more than 25 peer-reviewed TENOR publications. Regardless of age, patients with severe or difficult-to-treat asthma demonstrated high rates of health care use and substantial asthma burden despite receiving multiple long-term controller medications. Recent exacerbation history was the strongest predictor of future asthma exacerbations. Uncontrolled asthma, as defined by the 2007 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines' impairment domain, was highly prevalent and predictive of future asthma exacerbations; this assessment can be used to identify high-risk patients. IgE and allergen sensitization played a role in the majority of severe or difficult-to-treat asthmatic patients.
This paper extends prior work by jointly modeling the application and enrollment decision for in-state and out-of-state freshmen at a large public university. Two separate empirical analyses use ...individual and aggregate time-series data for the University of Oregon to estimate and compare the responsiveness of applicants and enrollees to person-specific and time-specific variation in the net price. The results show that prior studies may understate student price responsiveness by separately focusing on the application or enrollment decision. Moreover, the elasticity estimates are found to differ for in-state and out-of-state students and can be sensitive to whether the price variation occurs across individuals or over time.
We report the discovery of a spectroscopically confirmed strong Lyαemitter atz=7.0281±0.0003, observed as part of the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey(RELICS). This galaxy, dubbed“Dichromatic ...Primeval Galaxy”atz∼7(DP7), shows two distinct components. While fairly unremarkable in terms of its ultraviolet(UV)luminosity(~L0.3UV*,whereLUV*is the characteristic luminosity), DP7 has one of the highest observed Lyαequivalent widths(EWs)amongLyαemitters atz>6(>200Åin the rest frame). The strong Lyαemission generally suggests a young metal-poor, low-dust galaxy; however, we find that the UV slopeβof the galaxy as a whole is redder than typical star-forming galaxies at these redshifts,−1.13±0.84, likely indicating, on average, a considerable amount of dust obscuration, or an older stellar population. When we measureβfor the two components separately, however, we find evidence of differing UVcolors, suggesting two separate stellar populations. Also, we find that Lyαis spatially extended and likely larger than the galaxy size, hinting to the possible existence of a Lyαhalo. Rejuvenation or merging events could explain these results.Either scenario requires an extreme stellar population, possibly including a component of Population III stars, or an obscured active galactic nucleus. DP7, with its low UV luminosity and high LyαEW, represents the typical galaxies that are thought to be the major contribution to the reionization of the universe, and for this reason DP7 is an excellent target for follow-up with the James Webb Space Telescope
We report the discovery of two extremely magnified lensed star candidates behind the galaxy cluster MACS J0647.7+015 using recent multiband James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRCam observations. The ...star candidates are seen in a previously known, z (phot) similar or equal to 4.8 dropout giant arc that straddles the critical curve. The candidates lie near the expected critical curve position, but lack clear counter-images on the other side of it, suggesting these are possibly stars undergoing caustic crossings. We present revised lensing models for the cluster, including multiply imaged galaxies newly identified in the JWST data, and use them to estimate background macro-magnifications of at least greater than or similar to 90 and greater than or similar to 50 at the positions of the two candidates, respectively. With these values, we expect effective, caustic-crossing magnifications of similar to10(3)-10(5) for the two star candidates. The spectral energy distributions of the two candidates match well the spectra of B-type stars with best-fit surface temperatures of similar to 10,000 K, and similar to 12,000 K, respectively, and we show that such stars with masses greater than or similar to 20 M (circle dot) and greater than or similar to 50 M (circle dot), respectively, can become sufficiently magnified to be observable. We briefly discuss other alternative explanations and conclude that these objects are likely lensed stars, but also acknowledge that the less-magnified candidate may alternatively reside in a star cluster. These star candidates constitute the second highest-redshift examples to date after Earendel at z (phot) similar or equal to 6.2, establishing further the potential of studying extremely magnified stars at high redshifts with JWST. Planned future observations, including with NIRSpec, will enable a more detailed view of these candidates in the near future.
Body-size measurement errors are usually ignored in stock assessments, but may be important when body-size data (e.g., from visual surveys) are imprecise. We used experiments and models to quantify ...measurement errors and their effects on assessment models for sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus). Errors in size data obscured modes from strong year classes and increased frequency and size of the largest and smallest sizes, potentially biasing growth, mortality, and biomass estimates. Modeling techniques for errors in age data proved useful for errors in size data. In terms of a goodness of model fit to the assessment data, it was more important to accommodate variance than bias. Models that accommodated size errors fitted size data substantially better. We recommend experimental quantification of errors along with a modeling approach that accommodates measurement errors because a direct algebraic approach was not robust and because error parameters were difficult to estimate in our assessment model. The importance of measurement errors depends on many factors and should be evaluated on a case by case basis.
Background Identification of patients at risk for asthma exacerbations can assist physicians in addressing disease management and improve asthma-related health outcomes. Objective We sought to ...evaluate whether level of impairment, as defined by the 2007 asthma guidelines, predicts risk for future asthma exacerbations. Methods The study included children aged 6 to 11 years (n = 82) and adolescent/adult patients aged 12 years and older (n = 725) from The Epidemiology and Natural History of Asthma: Outcomes and Treatment Regimens study with data representing all components of the impairment domain of the asthma guidelines at baseline, month 12, and month 24. Patients were categorized into 2 cohorts: (1) consistently very poorly controlled (VPC) asthma from baseline through 2 years of follow-up and (2) improved from VPC asthma at baseline (including patients who improved to not well-controlled or well-controlled asthma), with improvement maintained through 2 years of follow-up. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for risk of asthma exacerbations at month 30 were generated by using multivariable logistic regression by age group. Results After adjustment, children with consistently VPC asthma over the 2-year period demonstrated a 6-fold increased risk of hospitalization, emergency department visit, or corticosteroid burst (OR, 6.4; 95% CI, 1.2-34.5) compared with the improved group. Adolescent/adult patients with consistently VPC asthma were more likely to have a corticosteroid burst (OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.7-4.8) or have a hospitalization, emergency department visit, or corticosteroid burst (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.9-5.3). Conclusions Consistently VPC asthma, as defined by the impairment domain of the 2007 asthma guidelines, is strongly predictive of future asthma exacerbations.
Recent observations have revealed the presence of strong CIII emission (EW CIII > 20Å) in z > 6 galaxies, the origin of which remains unclear. In an effort to understand the nature of these line ...emitters, we have initiated a survey targeting CIII emission in gravitationally-lensed reionization era analogs identified in HST imaging of clusters from the RELICS survey. Here we report initial results on four galaxies selected to have low stellar masses (2-8×10 7 M) and J 125-band flux excesses indicative of intense OIII+Hβ emission (EW OIII+Hβ =500-2000Å), similar to what has been observed at z > 6. We detect CIII emission in three of the four sources, with the CIII EW reaching values seen in the reionization era (EW CIII 17 − 22Å) in the two sources with the strongest optical line emission (EW OIII+Hβ 2000Å). We have obtained a Magellan/FIRE near-infrared spectrum of the strongest CIII emitter in our sample, revealing gas that is both metal poor and highly ionized. Using photoionization models, we are able to simultaneously reproduce the intense CIII and optical line emission for extremely young (2-3 Myr) and metal poor (0.06-0.08 Z) stellar populations, as would be expected after a substantial upturn in the SFR of a low mass galaxy. The sources in this survey are among the first for which CIII has been used as the primary means of redshift confirmation. We suggest that it should be possible to extend this approach to z > 6 with current facilities, using CIII to measure redshifts of objects with IRAC excesses indicating EW OIII+Hβ 2000Å, providing a method of spectroscopic confirmation independent of Lyα.
•Dynamic behavior of water droplets was investigated on polished rock surfaces.•Changes droplet morphology occurred over time due to spreading and imbibition.•Contact angles were estimated ...immediately following droplet diameter stabilization.•Estimates are more meaningful than using the initial value or averaging over time.•There were statistically significant differences in contact angles among rock types.
Contact angle measurements for gas-liquid-rock systems are important for modeling multi-phase flow and transport in the subsurface. These data are needed in applications such as the extraction of oil and gas resources, geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide, contaminant fate and transport, and aquifer recharge through the vadose zone. Contact angles are frequently measured with the sessile drop method. Previous research has largely ignored the dynamic behavior of sessile droplets on geologic materials. This study investigates the dynamic behavior of sessile water droplets on prepared rock surfaces in the presence of air. Droplet diameter and advancing contact angle were determined at 0.5 s intervals for ∼ 90 s on flat polished disks of Burlington limestone, Crossville sandstone, Mancos shale, Sierra White granite, Vermilion Bay granite, and Westerly granite using a Krüss DSA 30 Drop Shape Analyzer. The droplet diameter and advancing contact angle data sets were nonlinearly regressed against time using two different two-parameter models. The median coefficients of determination for the fits were 0.85 and 0.96, respectively. The resulting parameter estimates were used to compute the apparent equilibrium contact angle, θe, for each disk following droplet diameter stabilization. Estimates of θe ranged from 37.2° for Mancos shale to 75.6° for Burlington limestone. Analysis of variance indicated statistically significant differences in θe between the rock types at the 95% confidence level. The variability of θe on the polished rock surfaces, as quantified by the coefficient of variation (CV) for θe, varied between ∼ 3 and ∼ 9%; there were no significant differences in CV between the rock types. Neutron radiography indicated changes droplet morphology over time were due to the spontaneous imbibition of water into the rock matrix. The transient analysis employed in this study permits a more meaningful estimate of the equilibrium contact angle for rocks than taking the initial value or averaging over time as is frequently done.
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