The BL Lacertae object OJ 287 (z = 0.306) has unique double-peaked optical outbursts every ∼12 yr, and it presents one of the best cases for a small-separation binary supermassive black hole (SMBH) ...system, with an extremely massive primary . However, the host galaxy is unresolved or only marginally detected in all optical studies so far, indicating a large deviation from the bulge mass-SMBH mass relation. We have obtained deep, high spatial resolution i-band and K-band images of OJ 287 when the target was in a low state, which enable us to detect the host galaxy. We find the broadband photometry of the host to be consistent with an early-type galaxy with MR = −22.5 and MK = −25.2, placing it in the middle of the host galaxy luminosity distribution of BL Lacertae objects. The central supermassive black hole is clearly overmassive for a host galaxy of that luminosity, but not unprecedented, given some recent findings of other "overmassive" black holes in nearby galaxies.
The objective of this study was to evaluate ruminal microbiome changes associated with feeding Lactobacillus plantarum GB-LP1 as direct-fed microbials (DFM) in high-producing dairy cow diets. A ...dual-flow continuous culture system was used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design. A basal diet was formulated to meet the requirements of a cow producing 45 kg of milk per day (16% crude protein and 28% starch). There were 4 experimental treatments: the basal diet without any DFM (CTRL); a mixture of Lactobacillus acidophilus, 1 × 109 cfu/g, and Propionibacterium freudenreichii, 2 × 109 cfu/g MLP = 0.01% of diet dry matter (DM); and 2 different levels of L. plantarum, 1.35 × 109 cfu/g (L1 = 0.05% and L2 = 0.10% of diet DM). Bacterial samples were collected from the fluid and particulate effluents before feeding and at 2, 4, 6, and 8 h after feeding; a composite of all time points was made for each fermentor within their respective fractionations. Bacterial community composition was analyzed through sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Sequenced data were analyzed on DADA2, and statistical analyses were performed in R (RStudio 3.0.1, https://www.r-project.org/) and SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc.); orthogonal contrasts were used to compare treatments. Different than in other fermentation scenarios (e.g., silage or beef cattle high-grain diets), treatments did not affect pH or lactic acid concentration. Effects were mainly from overall DFM inclusion, and they were mostly observed in the fluid phase. The relative abundance of the phylum Firmicutes, family Lachnospiraceae, and 6 genera decreased with DFM inclusion, with emphasis on Butyrivibrio_2, Saccharofermentans, and Ruminococcus_1 that are fibrolytic and may display peptidase activity during fermentation. Lachnospiraceae_AC2044_group and Lachnospiraceae_XPB1014_group also decreased in the fluid phase, and their relative abundances were positively correlated with NH3-N daily outflow from the fermentors. Specific effects of MLP and L. plantarum were mostly in specific bacteria associated with proteolytic and fibrolytic functions in the rumen. These findings help to explain why, in the previous results from this study, DFM inclusion decreased NH3-N concentration without altering pH and lactic acid concentration.
A
bstract
Based on 4.5 fb
−
1
data taken at seven center-of-mass energies ranging from 4.600 to 4.699 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, we measure the branching fractions of
Λ
c
+
...→
Σ
+
+
hadrons
relative to
Λ
c
+
→
Σ
+
π
+
π
−
. Combining with the world average branching fraction of
Λ
c
+
→
Σ
+
π
+
π
−
, their branching fractions are measured to be (0
.
377
±
0
.
042
±
0
.
020
±
0
.
021)% for
Λ
c
+
→
Σ
+
K
+
K
−
, (0
.
200
±
0
.
023
±
0
.
011
±
0
.
011)% for
Λ
c
+
→
Σ
+
K
+
π
−
, (0
.
414
±
0
.
080
±
0
.
030
±
0
.
023)% for
Λ
c
+
→
Σ
+
ϕ
and (0
.
197
±
0
.
036
±
0
.
009
±
0
.
011)% for
Λ
c
+
→ Σ
+
K
+
K
−
(non-
ϕ
). In all the above results, the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic and the third are from external input of the branching fraction of
Λ
c
+
→
Σ
+
π
+
π
−
. Since no signal for
Λ
c
+
→
Σ
+
K
+
π
−
π
0
is observed, the upper limit of its branching fraction is determined to be 0.13% at the 90% confidence level.
Long γ-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most dramatic examples of massive stellar deaths, often associated with supernovae. They release ultra-relativistic jets, which produce non-thermal emission through ...synchrotron radiation as they interact with the surrounding medium. Here we report observations of the unusual GRB 101225A. Its γ-ray emission was exceptionally long-lived and was followed by a bright X-ray transient with a hot thermal component and an unusual optical counterpart. During the first 10 days, the optical emission evolved as an expanding, cooling black body, after which an additional component, consistent with a faint supernova, emerged. We estimate its redshift to be z = 0.33 by fitting the spectral-energy distribution and light curve of the optical emission with a GRB-supernova template. Deep optical observations may have revealed a faint, unresolved host galaxy. Our proposed progenitor is a merger of a helium star with a neutron star that underwent a common envelope phase, expelling its hydrogen envelope. The resulting explosion created a GRB-like jet which became thermalized by interacting with the dense, previously ejected material, thus creating the observed black body, until finally the emission from the supernova dominated. An alternative explanation is a minor body falling onto a neutron star in the Galaxy.
A
bstract
Using 24.1 fb
−
1
of
e
+
e
−
collision data collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, the Born cross sections and effective form factors of the
e
+
e
−
→
Σ
+
Σ
¯
−
reaction ...are measured. The measurements are performed at center-of-mass energies ranging from 3.510 to 4.951 GeV. No significant evidence for the decay of the charmonium(-like) states,
ψ
(3770),
ψ
(4040),
ψ
(4160),
Y
(4230),
Y
(4360),
ψ
(4415), and
Y
(4660), into a
Σ
+
Σ
¯
−
final state is observed. Consequently, upper limits for the products of the branching fractions and the electronic partial widths at the 90% confidence level are reported for these decays.
Genes and the environment contribute to variation in adult body mass index BMI (in kg/m2), but factors modifying these variance components are poorly understood.
We analyzed genetic and environmental ...variation in BMI between men and women from young adulthood to old age from the 1940s to the 2000s and between cultural-geographic regions representing high (North America and Australia), moderate (Europe), and low (East Asia) prevalence of obesity.
We used genetic structural equation modeling to analyze BMI in twins ≥20 y of age from 40 cohorts representing 20 countries (140,379 complete twin pairs).
The heritability of BMI decreased from 0.77 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.78) and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.75) in men and women 20–29 y of age to 0.57 (95% CI: 0.54, 0.60) and 0.59 (95% CI: 0.53, 0.65) in men 70–79 y of age and women 80 y of age, respectively. The relative influence of unique environmental factors correspondingly increased. Differences in the sets of genes affecting BMI in men and women increased from 20–29 to 60–69 y of age. Mean BMI and variances in BMI increased from the 1940s to the 2000s and were greatest in North America and Australia, followed by Europe and East Asia. However, heritability estimates were largely similar over measurement years and between regions. There was no evidence of environmental factors shared by co-twins affecting BMI.
The heritability of BMI decreased and differences in the sets of genes affecting BMI in men and women increased from young adulthood to old age. The heritability of BMI was largely similar between cultural-geographic regions and measurement years, despite large differences in mean BMI and variances in BMI. Our results show a strong influence of genetic factors on BMI, especially in early adulthood, regardless of the obesity level in the population.
A
bstract
Using
e
+
e
−
collision data corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 12.9 fb
−
1
collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, the exclusive Born cross sections and ...the effective form factors of the reaction
e
+
e
−
→
Ξ
−
Ξ
¯
+
are measured via the single baryon-tag method at 23 center-of-mass energies between 3.510 and 4.843 GeV. Evidence for the decay
ψ
3770
→
Ξ
−
Ξ
¯
+
is observed with a significance of 4.5
σ
by analyzing the measured cross sections together with earlier BESIII results. For the other charmonium(-like) states
ψ
(4040),
ψ
(4160),
Y
(4230),
Y
(4360),
ψ
(4415), and
Y
(4660), no significant signal of their decay to
Ξ
−
Ξ
¯
+
is found. For these states, upper limits of the products of the branching fraction and the electronic partial width at the 90% confidence level are provided.
The effects of various water temperature treatments on the development of red sea bream iridovirus disease (RSIVD) in rock bream Oplegnathus fasciatus challenged with iridovirus Sachun (IVS-1) were ...determined by measuring the mortality and the viral concentration in the spleen of infected fish. Experimental infections of rock bream with IVS-1 at water temperatures of 18, 21, and 25 degrees C resulted in a cumulative mortality of 100%, but infections at 13 degrees C resulted in 0% mortality, even after 45 d. The disease progressed more rapidly at higher water temperatures; at 25, 21, and 18 degrees C, the mean numbers of days until death were 17, 20, and 30 d, respectively. When the water temperature for fish infected with iridovirus by intramuscular injection was shifted from 13 to 25 degrees C, the cumulative mortality reached 100%, with rapid onset of the disease, independent of the time at which the temperature was shifted, i.e. 7, 14, or 30 d after injection at 13 degrees C. Real-time PCR data revealed that the viral genome copy number in the spleen of rock bream maintained at 13 degrees C increased with time, suggesting the occurrence of viral replication even at 13 degrees C. In the reverse experiment, when the water temperature for fish that were infected at a higher temperature was shifted to 13 degrees C, 3 or 7 d after injection at 25 degrees C, the fish showed 100% cumulative mortality, although the mean number of days until death was higher than that observed for fish maintained at a constant temperature of 25 degrees C. The viral DNA concentration in the spleen of rock bream that had been shifted down to 13 degrees C, 3 or 7 d after injection at 25 degrees C, was not suppressed, but increased and eventually reached levels sufficient to induce mortality at 13 degrees C. However, the level of viral genome copy numbers in the spleen of dead fish at 25 degrees C, regardless of whether those fish were held at a constant temperature of 25 degrees C or shifted up from 13 degrees C, appeared to be greater than the level found in the dead fish shifted down to 13 degrees C after inoculation at 25 degrees C.
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