ABSTRACT
We present 637 low-redshift optical spectra collected by the Berkeley Supernova Ia Program (BSNIP) between 2009 and 2018, almost entirely with the Kast double spectrograph on the Shane 3 m ...telescope at Lick Observatory. We describe our automated spectral classification scheme and arrive at a final set of 626 spectra (of 242 objects) that are unambiguously classified as belonging to Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Of these, 70 spectra of 30 objects are classified as spectroscopically peculiar (i.e. not matching the spectral signatures of ‘normal’ SNe Ia) and 79 SNe Ia (covered by 328 spectra) have complementary photometric coverage. The median SN in our final set has one epoch of spectroscopy, has a redshift of 0.0208 (with a low of 0.0007 and high of 0.1921), and is first observed spectroscopically 1.1 d after maximum light. The constituent spectra are of high quality, with a median signal-to-noise ratio of 31.8 pixel−1, and have broad wavelength coverage, with $\sim\! 95{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ covering at least 3700–9800 Å. We analyse our data set, focusing on quantitative measurements (e.g. velocities, pseudo-equivalent widths) of the evolution of prominent spectral features in the available early-time and late-time spectra. The data are available to the community, and we encourage future studies to incorporate our spectra in their analyses.
Abstract
Background
Caring for people with end-stage dementia living in the community and restricted to their homes is mainly done by home care units (HCU). Another uncommon program, in Israel, is ...implemented by the home hospice unit (HHU), specializing in palliative end-of-life care (EOLC). The aim of this study is to characterize ethical aspects, conflicts and dilemmas raised by staff and family caregivers, caring for people with end-stage dementia.
Methods
Qualitative research, using 65 semi-structured interviews (25 staff members and 40 family caregivers), was analyzed through a thematic content analysis approach.
Results
Dilemmas regarding palliative care were the main theme, including the definition of the disease as terminal, choosing ‘comfort’ over ‘life-prolonging’, clarifying patients’ wishes, and deciding whether to use artificial feeding. Substantial differences were found between those two settings of care, the main one being the difficulty to predict life expectancy which creates a gap in the caregivers’ expectations, approaches, and goals for EOLC, as well as for making choices and voicing preferences regarding ‘comfort’ and ‘life extension’.
Conclusions
This study shows the importance of developing ethical, felicitous cultural codes for professional staff caring for people with end-stage dementia and their irreplaceable, significant family caregivers. The findings can enable us to develop ethical codes for conducting quality care and practicing equality and mutual help for people with end-stage dementia living at home.
Key messages
• This study emphasizes the need for ethical codes and cultural sensitivities to provide quality care and support to people with end-stage dementia and their families under home care.
• Personalized approaches, training, and support are essential to handle the ethical dilemmas and conflicts that arise during palliative care for people with end-stage dementia living at home.
Freshwater salinization is an emerging global problem impacting safe drinking water, ecosystem health and biodiversity, infrastructure corrosion, and food production. Freshwater salinization ...originates from diverse anthropogenic and geologic sources including road salts, human-accelerated weathering, sewage, urban construction, fertilizer, mine drainage, resource extraction, water softeners, saltwater intrusion, and evaporative concentration of ions due to hydrologic alterations and climate change. The complex interrelationships between salt ions and chemical, biological, and geologic parameters and consequences on the natural, social, and built environment are called Freshwater Salinization Syndrome (FSS). Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of salinization issues (past, present, and future), and we investigate drivers and solutions. We analyze the expanding global magnitude and scope of FSS including its discovery in humid regions, connections to human-accelerated weathering and mobilization of ‘chemical cocktails.’ We also present data illustrating: (1) increasing trends in salt ion concentrations in some of the world’s major freshwaters, including critical drinking water supplies; (2) decreasing trends in nutrient concentrations in rivers due to regulations but increasing trends in salinization, which have been due to lack of adequate management and regulations; (3) regional trends in atmospheric deposition of salt ions and storage of salt ions in soils and groundwater, and (4) applications of specific conductance as a proxy for tracking sources and concentrations of groups of elements in freshwaters. We prioritize FSS research needs related to better understanding: (1) effects of saltwater intrusion on ecosystem processes, (2) potential health risks from groundwater contamination of home wells, (3) potential risks to clean and safe drinking water sources, (4) economic and safety impacts of infrastructure corrosion, (5) alteration of biodiversity and ecosystem functions, and (6) application of high-frequency sensors in state-of-the art monitoring and management. We evaluate management solutions using a watershed approach spanning air, land, and water to explore variations in sources, fate and transport of different salt ions (
e.g.
monitoring of atmospheric deposition of ions, stormwater management, groundwater remediation, and managing road runoff). We also identify tradeoffs in management approaches such as unanticipated retention and release of chemical cocktails from urban stormwater management best management practices (BMPs) and unintended consequences of alternative deicers on water quality. Overall, we show that FSS has direct and indirect effects on mobilization of diverse chemical cocktails of ions, metals, nutrients, organics, and radionuclides in freshwaters with mounting impacts. Our comprehensive review suggests what could happen if FSS were not managed into the future and evaluates strategies for reducing increasing risks to clean and safe drinking water, human health, costly infrastructure, biodiversity, and critical ecosystem services.
Thromboembolic events are a major cause of heart attacks and strokes. However, diagnosis of the location of high risk vascular clots is hampered by lack of proper technologies for their detection. We ...recently reported on bio-engineered fluorescent diamond-(NV)-Z~800nm (FNDP-(NV)) conjugated with bitistatin (Bit) and proven its ability to identify iatrogenic blood clots in the rat carotid artery in vivo by Near Infra-Red (NIR) monitored by In Vivo Imaging System (IVIS).
The objective of the present research was to assess the in vivo biocompatibility of FNDP-(NV)-Z~800nm infused intravenously to rats. Multiple biological variables were assessed along this 12 week study commissioned in anticipation of regulatory requirements for a long-term safety assessment.
Rats were infused under anesthesia with aforementioned dose of the FNDP-(NV), while equal number of animals served as control (vehicle treated). Over the 12 week observation period rats were tested for thriving, motor, sensory and cognitive functions. At the termination of study, blood samples were obtained under anesthesia for comprehensive hematology and biochemical assays. Furthermore, 6 whole organs (liver, spleen, brain, heart, lung and kidney) were collected and examined ex vivo for FNDP-NV) via NIR monitored by IVIS and histochemical inspection.
All animals survived, thrived (no change in body and organ growth). Neuro-behavioral functions remain intact. Hematology and biochemistry (including liver and kidney functions) were normal. Preferential FNDP-(NV) distribution identified the liver as the main long-term repository. Certified pathology reports indicated no outstanding of finding in all organs.
The present study suggests outstanding biocompatibility of FNDP-(NV)-Z~800nm after long-term exposure in the rat.
Functional biointerfaces hold broad significance for designing cell-responsive medical implants and sensor devices. Solid-supported phospholipid bilayers are a promising class of biological materials ...to build bioinspired thin-film coatings, as they can facilitate interactions with cell membranes. However, it remains challenging to fabricate lipid bilayers on medically relevant materials such as titanium oxide surfaces. There are also limitations in existing bilayer printing capabilities since most approaches are restricted to either deposition alone or to fixed microarray patterning. By combining advances in lipid surface chemistry and on-demand inkjet printing, we demonstrate the direct deposition and patterning of covalently tethered lipid bilayer membranes on titanium oxide surfaces, in ambient conditions and without any surface pretreatment process. The deposition conditions were evaluated by quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation (QCM-D) measurements, with corresponding resonance frequency (Δf) and energy dissipation (ΔD) shifts of around −25 Hz and <1 × 10−6, respectively, that indicated successful bilayer printing. The resulting printed phospholipid bilayers are stable in air and do not collapse following dehydration; through rehydration, the bilayers regain their functional properties, such as lateral mobility (>1 µm2/s diffusion coefficient), according to fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) measurements. By taking advantage of the lipid bilayer patterned architectures and the unique features of titanium oxide’s photoactivity, we further show how patterned cell culture arrays can be fabricated. Looking forward, this work presents new capabilities to achieve stable lipid bilayer patterns that can potentially be translated into implantable biomedical devices.
ABSTRACT
We present BVRI and unfiltered light curves of 93 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) follow-up program conducted between 2005 and 2018. Our sample ...consists of 78 spectroscopically normal SNe Ia, with the remainder divided between distinct subclasses (3 SN 1991bg-like, 3 SN 1991T-like, 4 SNe Iax, 2 peculiar, and 3 super-Chandrasekhar events), and has a median redshift of 0.0192. The SNe in our sample have a median coverage of 16 photometric epochs at a cadence of 5.4 d, and the median first observed epoch is ∼4.6 d before maximum B-band light. We describe how the SNe in our sample are discovered, observed, and processed, and we compare the results from our newly developed automated photometry pipeline to those from the previous processing pipeline used by LOSS. After investigating potential biases, we derive a final systematic uncertainty of 0.03 mag in BVRI for our data set. We perform an analysis of our light curves with particular focus on using template fitting to measure the parameters that are useful in standardizing SNe Ia as distance indicators. All of the data are available to the community, and we encourage future studies to incorporate our light curves in their analyses.
This work presents the fabrication of 3D‐printed composite objects based on copper(II) 1D coordination polymer (CP1) decorated with thymine along its chains with potential utility as an environmental ...humidity sensor and as a water sensor in organic solvents. This new composite object has a remarkable sensitivity, ranging from 0.3% to 4% of water in organic solvents. The sensing capacity is related to the structural transformation due to the loss of water molecules that CP1 undergoes with temperature or by solvent molecules' competition, which induces significant change in color simultaneously. The CP1 and 3D printed materials are stable in air over 1 year and also at biological pHs (5–7), therefore suggesting potential applications as robust colorimetric sensors. These results open the door to generate a family of new 3D printed materials based on the integration of multifunctional coordination polymers with organic polymers.
This work opens the door to the generation of new 3D‐printed materials based on the integration of multifunctional coordination polymers with organic polymers. The fabrication of 3D‐printed composite objects based on Cu(II) coordination polymer, with utility as a water colorimetric sensor, is presented. The sensing capacity is related to the loss of water molecules with temperature or by the solvent molecules' competition.
ABSTRACT
In this work, photometric and spectroscopic analyses of a very low-luminosity Type IIb supernova (SN) 2016iyc have been performed. SN 2016iyc lies near the faint end among the distribution ...of similar supernovae (SNe). Given lower ejecta mass (Mej) and low nickel mass (MNi) from the literature, combined with SN 2016iyc lying near the faint end, one-dimensional stellar evolution models of 9–14 M⊙ zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) stars as the possible progenitors of SN 2016iyc have been performed using the publicly available code mesa. Moreover, synthetic explosions of the progenitor models have been simulated, using the hydrodynamic evolution codes stella and snec. The bolometric luminosity light curve and photospheric velocities produced through synthetic explosions of ZAMS stars of mass in the range of 12–13 M⊙ having a pre-supernova radius R0 = (204–300) R⊙, with Mej = (1.89–1.93) M⊙, explosion energy Eexp = (0.28–0.35) × 1051 erg, and MNi < 0.09 M⊙, are in good agreement with observations; thus, SN 2016iyc probably exploded from a progenitor near the lower mass limits for SNe IIb. Finally, hydrodynamic simulations of the explosions of SN 2016gkg and SN 2011fu have also been performed to compare intermediate- and high-luminosity examples among well-studied SNe IIb. The results of progenitor modelling and synthetic explosions for SN 2016iyc, SN 2016gkg, and SN 2011fu exhibit a diverse range of mass for the possible progenitors of SNe IIb.
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