APOGEE-2 is a high-resolution, near-infrared spectroscopic survey observing ∼3 × 105 stars across the entire sky. It is the successor to APOGEE and is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV ...(SDSS-IV). APOGEE-2 is expanding on APOGEE's goals of addressing critical questions of stellar astrophysics, stellar populations, and Galactic chemodynamical evolution using (1) an enhanced set of target types and (2) a second spectrograph at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. APOGEE-2 is targeting red giant branch and red clump stars, RR Lyrae, low-mass dwarf stars, young stellar objects, and numerous other Milky Way and Local Group sources across the entire sky from both hemispheres. In this paper, we describe the APOGEE-2 observational design, target selection catalogs and algorithms, and the targeting-related documentation included in the SDSS data releases.
Ependymomas are common childhood brain tumours that occur throughout the nervous system, but are most common in the paediatric hindbrain. Current standard therapy comprises surgery and radiation, but ...not cytotoxic chemotherapy as it does not further increase survival. Whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing of 47 hindbrain ependymomas reveals an extremely low mutation rate, and zero significant recurrent somatic single nucleotide variants. Although devoid of recurrent single nucleotide variants and focal copy number aberrations, poor-prognosis hindbrain ependymomas exhibit a CpG island methylator phenotype. Transcriptional silencing driven by CpG methylation converges exclusively on targets of the Polycomb repressive complex 2 which represses expression of differentiation genes through trimethylation of H3K27. CpG island methylator phenotype-positive hindbrain ependymomas are responsive to clinical drugs that target either DNA or H3K27 methylation both in vitro and in vivo. We conclude that epigenetic modifiers are the first rational therapeutic candidates for this deadly malignancy, which is epigenetically deregulated but genetically bland.
We study the evolution of spectral early-type galaxies in clusters, groups, and the field up to redshift 0.9 using the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS) dataset. We measure structural parameters ...(circularized half-luminosity radii Re, surface brightness Ie, and velocity dispersions sigma) for 154 cluster and 68 field galaxies. On average, we achieve precisions of 10% in Re, 0.1 dex in log Ie, and 10% in sigma. We sample 20% of cluster and 10% of field spectral early-type galaxies to an I band magnitude in a 1 arcsec radius aperture as faint as I1 = 22. We study the evolution of the zero point of the fundamental plane (FP) and confirm results in the literature, but now also for the low cluster velocity dispersion regime. Taken at face value, the mass-to-light ratio varies as Delta log M/LB = (-0.54 ± 0.01) z = (-1.61 ± 0.01) log (1+z) in clusters, independent of their velocity dispersion. The evolution is stronger (Delta log M/LB = (-0.76 ± 0.01) z = (-2.27 ± 0.03) log (1+z)) for field galaxies. A somewhat milder evolution is derived if a correction for incompleteness is applied. A rotation in the FP with redshift is detected with low statistical significance. The alpha and beta FP coefficients decrease with redshift, or, equivalently, the FP residuals correlate with galaxy mass and become progressively negative at low masses. The effect is visible at z >= 0.7 for cluster galaxies and at lower redshifts z >= 0.5 for field galaxies. We investigate the size evolution of our galaxy sample. In agreement with previous results, we find that the half-luminosity radius for a galaxy with a dynamical or stellar mass of 2 × 1011 M_ varies as (1+z)-1.0±0.3 for both cluster and field galaxies. At the same time, stellar velocity dispersions grow with redshift, as (1+z)0.59±0.10 at constant dynamical mass, and as (1+z)0.34±0.14 at constant stellar mass. The measured size evolution reduces to Re ∝ (1+z)-0.5±0.2 and sigma ∝ (1+z)0.41±0.08, at fixed dynamical masses, and Re ∝ (1+z)-0.68±0.4 and sigma ∝ (1+z)0.19±0.10, at fixed stellar masses, when the progenitor bias (PB, galaxies that locally are of spectroscopic early-type, but are not very old, disappear progressively from the EDisCS high-redshift sample; often these galaxies happen to be large in size) is taken into account. Taken together, the variations in size and velocity dispersion imply that the luminosity evolution with redshift derived from the zero point of the FP is somewhat milder than that derived without taking these variations into account. When considering dynamical masses, the effects of size and velocity dispersion variations almost cancel out. For stellar masses, the luminosity evolution is reduced to LB ∝ (1+z)1.0 for cluster galaxies and LB ∝ (1+z)1.67 for field galaxies. Using simple stellar population models to translate the observed luminosity evolution into a formation age, we find that massive (>1011 M_ ) cluster galaxies are old (with a formation redshift zf > 1.5) and lower mass galaxies are 3-4 Gyr younger, in agreement with previous EDisCS results from color and line index analyses. This confirms the picture of a progressive build-up of the red sequence in clusters with time. Field galaxies follow the same trend, but are 1 Gyr younger at a given redshift and mass. Taking into account the size and velocity dispersion evolution quoted above pushes all formation ages upwards by 1 to 4 Gyr.
Itaconate (ITA) is an emerging powerhouse of innate immunity with therapeutic potential that is limited in its ability to be administered in a soluble form. A library of polyester materials that ...incorporate ITA into polymer backbones resulting in materials with inherent immunoregulatory behavior is developed. Harnessing hydrolytic degradation release from polyester backbones, ITA polymers result in the mechanism specific immunoregulatory properties on macrophage polarization in vitro. In a functional assay, the polymer‐released ITA inhibits bacterial growth on acetate. Translation to an in vivo model of biomaterial associated inflammation, intraperitoneal injection of ITA polymers demonstrate a rapid resolution of inflammation in comparison to a control polymer silicone, demonstrating the value of sustained biomimetic presentation of ITA.
Harnessing the power of innate immunity, a family of degradable polyester materials is developed that recapitulate the functional effects of itaconate in a sustained delivery. Synthesized through a one pot condensation, hydrolytic degradation molecule release from itaconate polymer backbones regulates inflammation in local cellular microenvironments in a biomimetic fashion.
In August 2005, the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed 90 km to the west of a 3-m discus buoy deployed in the Mississippi Sound and operated by the Central Gulf of Mexico Ocean Observing System ...(CenGOOS). The buoy motions were measured with a strapped-down, 6 degrees of freedom accelerometer, a three-axis magnetometer, and from the displacement of a GPS antenna measured by postprocessed-kinematic GPS. Recognizing that an accelerometer experiences a large offset due to gravity, the authors investigated four different means of computing wave heights. In the most widely used method for a buoy with a strapped-down, 1D accelerometer, wave heights are overestimated by 26% on average and up to 56% during the peak of the hurricane. In the second method, the component of gravity is removed from the deck relative z-axis accelerations, requiring pitch and roll information. This is most similar to the motion of the GPS antenna and reduces the overestimation to only 5% on average. In the third method, the orientation data are used to obtain a very accurate estimate of the vertical acceleration, reducing the overestimation of wave heights to 1%. The fourth method computes an estimate of the true earth-referenced vertical accelerations using the accelerations from all three axes but not the pitch and roll information. It underestimates the wave heights by 2.5%. The fifth method uses the acceleration from all three axes and the pitch and roll information to obtain the earth-referenced vertical acceleration of the buoy, the most accurate measure of the true wave vertical acceleration. The primary conclusion of this work is that the measured deck relative accelerations from a strapped-down, 1D accelerometer must be tilt corrected in environments of high wave heights.
OBJECTIVE: Utilization of mental health treatment was compared in patients with personality disorders and patients with major depressive disorder without personality disorder. METHOD: Semistructured ...interviews were used to assess diagnosis and treatment history of 664 patients in four representative personality disorder groups-schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive-and in a comparison group of patients with major depressive disorder. RESULTS: Patients with personality disorders had more extensive histories of psychiatric outpatient, inpatient, and psychopharmacologic treatment than patients with major depressive disorder. Compared to the depression group, patients with borderline personality disorder were significantly more likely to have received every type of psychosocial treatment except self-help groups, and patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder reported greater utilization of individual psychotherapy. Patients with borderline personality disorder were also more likely to have used antianxiety, antidepressant, and mood stabilizer medications, and those with borderline or schizotypal personality disorder had a greater likelihood of having received antipsychotic medications. Patients with borderline personality disorder had received greater amounts of treatment, except for family couples therapy and self-help, than the depressed patients and patients with other personality disorders. CONCLUSIONS: These results underscore the importance of considering personality disorders in diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric patients. Borderline and schizotypal personality disorder are associated with extensive use of mental health resources, and other, less severe personality disorders may not be addressed sufficiently in treatment planning. More work is needed to determine whether patients with personality disorders are receiving adequate and appropriate mental health treatments.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare psychosocial functioning in patients with schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and patients with major ...depressive disorder and no personality disorder. METHOD: Patients (N=668) were recruited by the four clinical sites of the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. The carefully diagnosed study groups were compared on an array of domains of psychosocial functioning, as measured by the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation-Baseline Version and the Social Adjustment Scale. RESULTS: Patients with schizotypal personality disorder and borderline personality disorder were found to have significantly more impairment at work, in social relationships, and at leisure than patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder or major depressive disorder; patients with avoidant personality disorder were intermediate. These differences were found across assessment modalities and remained significant after covarying for demographic differences and comorbid axis I psychopathology. CONCLUSIONS: Personality disorders are a significant source of psychiatric morbidity, accounting for more impairment in functioning than major depressive disorder alone.
Campylobacter is a common cause of gastroenteritis in the United States. We conducted a population-based case-control study to determine risk factors for sporadic Campylobacter infection. During a ...12-month study, we enrolled 1316 patients with culture-confirmed Campylobacter infections from 7 states, collecting demographic, clinical, and exposure data using a standardized questionnaire. We interviewed 1 matched control subject for each case patient. Thirteen percent of patients had traveled abroad. In multivariate analysis of persons who had not traveled, the largest population attributable fraction (PAF) of 24% was related to consumption of chicken prepared at a restaurant. The PAF for consumption of nonpoultry meat that was prepared at a restaurant was also large (21%); smaller proportions of illness were associated with other food and nonfood exposures. Efforts to reduce contamination of poultry with Campylobacter should benefit public health. Restaurants should improve food-handling practices, ensure adequate cooking of meat and poultry, and consider purchasing poultry that has been treated to reduce Campylobacter contamination.
OBJECTIVE: This study tested the factor structure of the DSM-IV criteria for borderline personality disorder by using confirmatory methods for the analysis of covariance structures in a large group ...from a multisite study. METHOD: A total of 668 primarily treatment-seeking subjects were reliably assessed for personality disorders by using the Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders. Associations among criteria for borderline personality disorder were examined. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test diagnosis as a unitary construct and to test an earlier-reported three-factor model comprising disturbed relatedness, behavioral dysregulation, and affective dysregulation. The three-factor model was subsequently tested by using a subset (N=498) of the study group that was reassessed 2 years later by independent evaluators who were blind to original diagnoses. RESULTS: Internal consistency of the borderline personality disorder diagnosis was adequate for both baseline and follow-up assessments. A confirmatory factor analysis model testing the borderline personality disorder diagnosis as a unitary construct provided good fit, and the three-factor model offered a significantly better fit for the baseline assessment. The three-factor model was replicated with the 2-year follow-up data. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder appear to reflect a statistically coherent construct. Three homogeneous components were supported empirically, lending conceptual clarity to different classes of the criteria for borderline personality disorder.
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