Aims/hypothesis We sought to establish the extent and basis for adaptive changes in beta cell numbers in human pregnancy. Methods Pancreas was obtained at autopsy from women who had died while ...pregnant (n = 18), post-partum (n = 6) or were not pregnant at or shortly before death (controls; n = 20). Pancreases were evaluated for fractional pancreatic beta cell area, islet size and islet fraction of beta cells, beta cell replication (Ki67) and apoptosis (TUNEL), and indirect markers of beta cell neogenesis (insulin-positive cells in ducts and scattered beta cells in pancreas). Results The pancreatic fractional beta cell area was increased by ∼1.4-fold in human pregnancy, with no change in mean beta cell size. In pregnancy there were more small islets rather than an increase in islet size or beta cells per islet. No increase in beta cell replication or change in beta cell apoptosis was detected, but duct cells positive for insulin and scattered beta cells were increased with pregnancy. Conclusions/interpretation The adaptive increase in beta cell numbers in human pregnancy is not as great as in most reports in rodents. This increase in humans is achieved by increased numbers of beta cells in apparently new small islets, rather than duplication of beta cells in existing islets, which is characteristic of pregnancy in rodents.
The flux-density scale of Perley & Butler is extended downward to ∼50 MHz by utilizing recent observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) of 20 sources between 220 MHz and 48.1 GHz, ...and legacy VLA observations at 73.8 MHz. The derived spectral flux densities are placed on an absolute scale by utilizing the Baars et al. values for Cygnus A (3C405) for frequencies below 2 GHz, and the Mars-based polynomials for 3C286, 3C295, and 3C196 from Perley & Butler above 2 GHz. Polynomial expressions are presented for all 20 sources, with accuracy limited by the primary standards to 3%-5% over the entire frequency range. Corrections to the scales proposed by Perley & Butler, and by Scaife & Heald are given.
We develop an absolute flux density scale for centimeter-wavelength astronomy by combining accurate flux density ratios determined by the Very Large Array between the planet Mars and a set of ...potential calibrators with the Rudy thermophysical emission model of Mars, adjusted to the absolute scale established by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. The radio sources 3C123, 3C196, 3C286, and 3C295 are found to be varying at a level of less than ~5% per century at all frequencies between 1 and 50 GHz, and hence are suitable as flux density standards. We present polynomial expressions for their spectral flux densities, valid from 1 to 50 GHz, with absolute accuracy estimated at 1%-3% depending on frequency. Of the four sources, 3C286 is the most compact and has the flattest spectral index, making it the most suitable object on which to establish the spectral flux density scale. The sources 3C48, 3C138, 3C147, NGC 7027, NGC 6542, and MWC 349 show significant variability on various timescales. Polynomial coefficients for the spectral flux density are developed for 3C48, 3C138, and 3C147 for each of the 17 observation dates, spanning 1983-2012. The planets Venus, Uranus, and Neptune are included in our observations, and we derive their brightness temperatures over the same frequency range.
A nearby multiplanet system
Exoplanets can interact gravitationally with other objects orbiting the same star, affecting their evolution and stability. Studying these effects requires locating ...systems with multiple planets. Monitoring the nearby red dwarf star GJ 887, Jeffers
et al.
detected periodic radial velocity signals, indicating the presence of two planets on orbits with periods of about 9 and 22 days and a further candidate planet (see the Perspective by Davies). The inclinations of the orbits are unknown, so only minimum masses could be determined, but those were consistent with both planets being super-Earths—more massive than Earth but less than Neptune. This system is only 3.3 parsecs from the Sun, which should facilitate follow-up with other techniques.
Science
, this issue p.
1477
; see also p.
1432
Two super-Earth exoplanets orbit GJ 887, a red dwarf star located only 3.3 parsecs from the Sun.
The closet exoplanets to the Sun provide opportunities for detailed characterization of planets outside the Solar System. We report the discovery, using radial velocity measurements, of a compact multiplanet system of super-Earth exoplanets orbiting the nearby red dwarf star GJ 887. The two planets have orbital periods of 9.3 and 21.8 days. Assuming an Earth-like albedo, the equilibrium temperature of the 21.8-day planet is ~350 kelvin. The planets are interior to, but close to the inner edge of, the liquid-water habitable zone. We also detect an unconfirmed signal with a period of ~50 days, which could correspond to a third super-Earth in a more temperate orbit. Our observations show that GJ 887 has photometric variability below 500 parts per million, which is unusually quiet for a red dwarf.
Since the 2017 discovery of established populations of the Asian longhorned tick, (Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann) in the United States, populations continue to be detected in new areas. For this ...exotic and invasive species, capable of transmitting a diverse repertoire of pathogens and blood feeding on a variety of host species, there remains a lack of targeted information on how to best prepare for this tick and understand when and where it occurs. To fill this gap, we conducted two years of weekly tick surveillance at four farms in Tennessee (three H. longicornis-infested and one without) to identify environmental factors associated with each questing life stage, to investigate predictors of abundance, and to determine the likelihood of not collecting ticks at different life stages. A total of 46,770 ticks were collected, of which 12,607 H. longicornis and five other tick species were identified. Overall, abundance of H. longicornis were associated with spring and summer seasons, forested environments, relative humidity and barometric pressure, sunny conditions, and in relation with other tick species. The likelihood of not collecting H. longicornis was associated with day length and barometric pressure. Additional associations for different life stages were also identified and included other tick species, climatic variables, and environmental conditions. Here, we demonstrated that environmental variables can be useful to predict the presence of questing H. longicornis and provide ideas on how to use this information to develop a surveillance plan for different southeastern areas with and without infestations.
Frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are closely related clinical syndromes with overlapping molecular pathogenesis. Several families have been reported with members affected by ...frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or both, which show genetic linkage to a region on chromosome 9p21. Recently, two studies identified the FTD/ALS gene defect on chromosome 9p as an expanded GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat in a non-coding region of the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 gene (C9ORF72). In the present study, we provide detailed analysis of the clinical features and neuropathology for 16 unrelated families with frontotemporal dementia caused by the C9ORF72 mutation. All had an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Eight families had a combination of frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis while the other eight had a pure frontotemporal dementia phenotype. Clinical information was available for 30 affected members of the 16 families. There was wide variation in age of onset (mean = 54.3, range = 34-74 years) and disease duration (mean = 5.3, range = 1-16 years). Early diagnoses included behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (n = 15), progressive non-fluent aphasia (n = 5), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 9) and progressive non-fluent aphasia-amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 1). Heterogeneity in clinical presentation was also common within families. However, there was a tendency for the phenotypes to converge with disease progression; seven subjects had final clinical diagnoses of both frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and all of those with an initial progressive non-fluent aphasia diagnosis subsequently developed significant behavioural abnormalities. Twenty-one affected family members came to autopsy and all were found to have transactive response DNA binding protein with M(r) 43 kD (TDP-43) pathology in a wide neuroanatomical distribution. All had involvement of the extramotor neocortex and hippocampus (frontotemporal lobar degeneration-TDP) and all but one case (clinically pure frontotemporal dementia) had involvement of lower motor neurons, characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In addition, a consistent and relatively specific pathological finding was the presence of neuronal inclusions in the cerebellar cortex that were ubiquitin/p62-positive but TDP-43-negative. Our findings indicate that the C9ORF72 mutation is a major cause of familial frontotemporal dementia with TDP-43 pathology, that likely accounts for the majority of families with combined frontotemporal dementia/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis presentation, and further support the concept that frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis represent a clinicopathological spectrum of disease with overlapping molecular pathogenesis.
The NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) on the NASA B200 aircraft has acquired extensive datasets of aerosol extinction (532 nm), aerosol optical depth ...(AOD) (532 nm), backscatter (532 and 1064 nm), and depolarization (532 and 1064 nm) profiles during 18 field missions that have been conducted over North America since 2006. The lidar measurements of aerosol intensive parameters (lidar ratio, depolarization, backscatter color ratio, and spectral depolarization ratio) are shown to vary with location and aerosol type. A methodology based on observations of known aerosol types is used to qualitatively classify the extensive set of HSRL aerosol measurements into eight separate types. Several examples are presented showing how the aerosol intensive parameters vary with aerosol type and how these aerosols are classified according to this new methodology. The HSRL-based classification reveals vertical variability of aerosol types during the NASA ARCTAS field experiment conducted over Alaska and northwest Canada during 2008. In two examples derived from flights conducted during ARCTAS, the HSRL classification of biomass burning smoke is shown to be consistent with aerosol types derived from coincident airborne in situ measurements of particle size and composition. The HSRL retrievals of AOD and inferences of aerosol types are used to apportion AOD to aerosol type; results of this analysis are shown for several experiments.
Abstract
Difficulties with tracheal intubation commonly arise and impact patient safety. This systematic review evaluates whether videolaryngoscopes reduce intubation failure and complications ...compared with direct laryngoscopy in adults. We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and clinicaltrials.gov up to February 2015, and conducted forward and backward citation tracking. We included randomized controlled trials that compared adult patients undergoing laryngoscopy with videolaryngoscopy or Macintosh laryngoscopy. We did not primarily intend to compare individual videolaryngoscopes. Sixty-four studies (7044 participants) were included. Moderate quality evidence showed that videolaryngoscopy reduced failed intubations (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.35, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.19-0.65) including in participants with anticipated difficult airways (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.15-0.55). There was no evidence of reduction in hypoxia or mortality, but few studies reported these outcomes. Videolaryngoscopes reduced laryngeal/airway trauma (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48-0.96) and hoarseness (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.36-0.88). Videolaryngoscopy increased easy laryngeal views (OR 6.77, 95% CI 4.17-10.98) and reduced difficult views (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.13-0.27) and intubation difficulty, typically using an 'intubation difficulty score' (OR 7.13, 95% CI 3.12-16.31). Failed intubations were reduced with experienced operators (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.13-0.75) but not with inexperienced users. We identified no difference in number of first attempts and incidence of sore throat. Heterogeneity around time for intubation data prevented meta-analysis. We found evidence of differential performance between different videolaryngoscope designs. Lack of data prevented analysis of impact of obesity or clinical location on failed intubation rates. Videolaryngoscopes may reduce the number of failed intubations, particularly among patients presenting with a difficult airway. They improve the glottic view and may reduce laryngeal/airway trauma. Currently, no evidence indicates that use of a videolaryngoscope reduces the number of intubation attempts or the incidence of hypoxia or respiratory complications, and no evidence indicates that use of a videolaryngoscope affects time required for intubation.
Barnard's star is a red dwarf, and has the largest proper motion (apparent motion across the sky) of all known stars. At a distance of 1.8 parsecs
, it is the closest single star to the Sun; only the ...three stars in the α Centauri system are closer. Barnard's star is also among the least magnetically active red dwarfs known
and has an estimated age older than the Solar System. Its properties make it a prime target for planetary searches; various techniques with different sensitivity limits have been used previously, including radial-velocity imaging
, astrometry
and direct imaging
, but all ultimately led to negative or null results. Here we combine numerous measurements from high-precision radial-velocity instruments, revealing the presence of a low-amplitude periodic signal with a period of 233 days. Independent photometric and spectroscopic monitoring, as well as an analysis of instrumental systematic effects, suggest that this signal is best explained as arising from a planetary companion. The candidate planet around Barnard's star is a cold super-Earth, with a minimum mass of 3.2 times that of Earth, orbiting near its snow line (the minimum distance from the star at which volatile compounds could condense). The combination of all radial-velocity datasets spanning 20 years of measurements additionally reveals a long-term modulation that could arise from a stellar magnetic-activity cycle or from a more distant planetary object. Because of its proximity to the Sun, the candidate planet has a maximum angular separation of 220 milliarcseconds from Barnard's star, making it an excellent target for direct imaging and astrometric observations in the future.
The global fossil record of marine animals has fueled long-standing debates about diversity change through time and the drivers of this change. However, the fossil record is not truly global. It ...varies considerably in geographic scope and in the sampling of environments among intervals of geological time. We account for this variability using a spatially explicit approach to quantify regional-scale diversity through the Phanerozoic. Among-region variation in diversity is comparable to variation through time, and much of this is explained by environmental factors, particularly the extent of reefs. By contrast, influential hypotheses of diversity change through time, including sustained long-term increases, have little explanatory power. Modeling the spatial structure of the fossil record transforms interpretations of Phanerozoic diversity patterns and their macroevolutionary explanations. This necessitates a refocus of deep-time diversification studies.
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