We present the discovery of ASASSN-18ey (MAXI J1820+070), a new black hole low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN). A week after ASAS-SN ...discovered ASASSN-18ey as an optical transient, it was detected as an X-ray transient by MAXI/GCS. Here, we analyze ASAS-SN and Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System pre-outburst optical light curves, finding evidence of intrinsic variability for several years prior to the outburst. While there was no long-term rise leading to the outburst, as has been seen in several other systems, the start of the outburst in the optical preceded that in the X-rays by 7.20 0.97 days. We analyze the spectroscopic evolution of ASASSN-18ey from pre-maximum to >100 days post-maximum. The spectra of ASASSN-18ey exhibit broad, asymmetric, double-peaked H emission. The Bowen blend (λ 4650 ) in the post-maximum spectra shows highly variable double-peaked profiles, likely arising from irradiation of the companion by the accretion disk, typical of low-mass X-ray binaries. The optical and X-ray luminosities of ASASSN-18ey are consistent with black hole low-mass X-ray binaries, both in outburst and quiescence.
Microgastrine wasps are among the most species‐rich and numerous parasitoids of caterpillars (Lepidoptera). They are often host‐specific and thus are extensively used in biological control efforts ...and figure prominently in trophic webs. However, their extraordinary diversity coupled with the occurrence of many cryptic species produces a significant taxonomic impediment. We present and release the results of 8 years (2004–2011) of DNA barcoding microgastrine wasps. Currently they are the best represented group of parasitoid Hymenoptera in the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), a massive barcode storage and analysis data management site for the International Barcoding of Life (iBOL) program. There are records from more than 20 000 specimens from 75 countries, including 50 genera (90% of the known total) and more than 1700 species (as indicated by Barcode Index Numbers and 2% MOTU). We briefly discuss the importance of this DNA data set and its collateral information for future research in: (1) discovery of cryptic species and description of new taxa; (2) estimating species numbers in biodiversity inventories; (3) clarification of generic boundaries; (4) biological control programmes; (5) molecular studies of host‐parasitoid biology and ecology; (6) evaluation of shifts in species distribution and phenology; and (7) fostering collaboration at national, regional and world levels. The integration of DNA barcoding with traditional morphology‐based taxonomy, host records, and other data has substantially improved the accuracy of microgastrine wasp identifications and will significantly accelerate further studies on this group of parasitoids.
Abstract
We present the Herschel Bright Sources (HerBS) sample, a sample of bright, high-redshift Herschel sources detected in the 616.4 deg2Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey. The ...HerBS sample contains 209 galaxies, selected with a 500 μm flux density greater than 80 mJy and an estimated redshift greater than 2. The sample consists of a combination of hyperluminous infrared galaxies and lensed ultraluminous infrared galaxies during the epoch of peak cosmic star formation. In this paper, we present Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2 (SCUBA-2) observations at 850 μm of 189 galaxies of the HerBS sample, 152 of these sources were detected. We fit a spectral template to the Herschel-Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) and 850 μm SCUBA-2 flux densities of 22 sources with spectroscopically determined redshifts, using a two-component modified blackbody spectrum as a template. We find a cold- and hot-dust temperature of $21.29_{-1.66}^{+1.35}$ and $45.80_{-3.48}^{+2.88}$ K, a cold-to-hot dust mass ratio of $26.62_{-6.74}^{+5.61}$ and a β of $1.83_{-0.28}^{+0.14}$. The poor quality of the fit suggests that the sample of galaxies is too diverse to be explained by our simple model. Comparison of our sample to a galaxy evolution model indicates that the fraction of lenses are high. Out of the 152 SCUBA-2 detected galaxies, the model predicts 128.4 ± 2.1 of those galaxies to be lensed (84.5 per cent). The SPIRE 500 μm flux suggests that out of all 209 HerBS sources, we expect 158.1 ± 1.7 lensed sources, giving a total lensing fraction of 76 per cent.
Since the year 2000, a concerted campaign against malaria has led to unprecedented levels of intervention coverage across sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding the effect of this control effort is vital ...to inform future control planning. However, the effect of malaria interventions across the varied epidemiological settings of Africa remains poorly understood owing to the absence of reliable surveillance data and the simplistic approaches underlying current disease estimates. Here we link a large database of malaria field surveys with detailed reconstructions of changing intervention coverage to directly evaluate trends from 2000 to 2015, and quantify the attributable effect of malaria disease control efforts. We found that Plasmodium falciparum infection prevalence in endemic Africa halved and the incidence of clinical disease fell by 40% between 2000 and 2015. We estimate that interventions have averted 663 (542-753 credible interval) million clinical cases since 2000. Insecticide-treated nets, the most widespread intervention, were by far the largest contributor (68% of cases averted). Although still below target levels, current malaria interventions have substantially reduced malaria disease incidence across the continent. Increasing access to these interventions, and maintaining their effectiveness in the face of insecticide and drug resistance, should form a cornerstone of post-2015 control strategies.
Fusarium head blight (FHB),is a devastating disease of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), causing reductions in yield and quality. Marker-based selection for resistance to FHB and lowered deoxynivalenol ...(DON) grain concentration would save considerable costs and time associated with phenotyping. A marker-based selection approach called genomic selection (GS) uses genomewide marker information to predict genetic value. We used a cross-validation approach that separated training sets from validation sets by both entry and environment. We used this framework to test the potential of GS for genetic improvement of FHB and DON as well as test the effect of different factors on prediction accuracy. Prediction accuracy for FHB was found to be as high as 0.72 and that for DON was found to be as high as 0.68. Little difference was found between marker effect estimation methods in terms of prediction of entry genetic value. The extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD) present in this population allowed the marker set to be reduced to 384 markers and training population (TP) size to be reduced 200 with little effect on prediction accuracy. We found little to no advantage to combining subpopulations that correspond to neighboring breeding programs to increase TP size. Apparently, little genetic information is shared between subpopulations, either because of different marker–quantitative trait loci (QTL) linkage phases, different segregating QTL, or nonadditive gene action.
The African naked mole-rat’s (Heterocephalus glaber) social and subterranean lifestyle generates a hypoxic niche. Under experimental conditions, naked mole-rats tolerate hours of extreme hypoxia and ...survive 18 minutes of total oxygen deprivation (anoxia) without apparent injury. During anoxia, the naked mole-rat switches to anaerobic metabolism fueled by fructose, which is actively accumulated and metabolized to lactate in the brain. Global expression of the GLUT5 fructose transporter and high levels of ketohexokinase were identified as molecular signatures of fructose metabolism. Fructose-driven glycolytic respiration in naked mole-rat tissues avoids feedback inhibition of glycolysis via phosphofructokinase, supporting viability. The metabolic rewiring of glycolysis can circumvent the normally lethal effects of oxygen deprivation, a mechanism that could be harnessed to minimize hypoxic damage in human disease.
We performed a genome-wide association study of 6447 bipolar disorder (BD) cases and 12 639 controls from the International Cohort Collection for Bipolar Disorder (ICCBD). Meta-analysis was performed ...with prior results from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Bipolar Disorder Working Group for a combined sample of 13 902 cases and 19 279 controls. We identified eight genome-wide significant, associated regions, including a novel associated region on chromosome 10 (rs10884920; P=3.28 × 10
) that includes the brain-enriched cytoskeleton protein adducin 3 (ADD3), a non-coding RNA, and a neuropeptide-specific aminopeptidase P (XPNPEP1). Our large sample size allowed us to test the heritability and genetic correlation of BD subtypes and investigate their genetic overlap with schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. We found a significant difference in heritability of the two most common forms of BD (BD I SNP-h
=0.35; BD II SNP-h
=0.25; P=0.02). The genetic correlation between BD I and BD II was 0.78, whereas the genetic correlation was 0.97 when BD cohorts containing both types were compared. In addition, we demonstrated a significantly greater load of polygenic risk alleles for schizophrenia and BD in patients with BD I compared with patients with BD II, and a greater load of schizophrenia risk alleles in patients with the bipolar type of schizoaffective disorder compared with patients with either BD I or BD II. These results point to a partial difference in the genetic architecture of BD subtypes as currently defined.
The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) Experiment was carried out in the environs of Manaus, Brazil, in the central region of the Amazon basin for 2 years from ...1 January 2014 through 31 December 2015. The experiment focused on the complex interactions among vegetation, atmospheric chemistry, and aerosol production on the one hand and their connections to aerosols, clouds, and precipitation on the other. The objective was to understand and quantify these linked processes, first under natural conditions to obtain a baseline and second when altered by the effects of human activities. To this end, the pollution plume from the Manaus metropolis, superimposed on the background conditions of the central Amazon basin, served as a natural laboratory. The present paper, as the introduction to the special issue of GoAmazon2014/5, presents the context and motivation of the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment. The nine research sites, including the characteristics and instrumentation of each site, are presented. The sites range from time point zero (T0) upwind of the pollution, to T1 in the midst of the pollution, to T2 just downwind of the pollution, to T3 furthest downwind of the pollution (70 km). In addition to the ground sites, a low-altitude G-159 Gulfstream I (G-1) observed the atmospheric boundary layer and low clouds, and a high-altitude Gulfstream G550 (HALO) operated in the free troposphere. During the 2-year experiment, two Intensive Operating Periods (IOP1 and IOP2) also took place that included additional specialized research instrumentation at the ground sites as well as flights of the two aircraft. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP1 was carried out from 1 February to 31 March 2014 in the wet season. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP2 was conducted from 15 August to 15 October 2014 in the dry season. The G-1 aircraft flew during both IOP1 and IOP2, and the HALO aircraft flew during IOP2. In the context of the Amazon basin, the two IOPs also correspond to the clean and biomass burning seasons, respectively. The Manaus plume is present year-round, and it is transported by prevailing northeasterly and easterly winds in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. This introduction also organizes information relevant to many papers in the special issue. Information is provided on the vehicle fleet, power plants, and industrial activities of Manaus. The mesoscale and synoptic meteorologies relevant to the two IOPs are presented. Regional and long-range transport of emissions during the two IOPs is discussed based on satellite observations across South America and Africa. Fire locations throughout the airshed are detailed. In conjunction with the context and motivation of GoAmazon2014/5 as presented in this introduction, research articles including thematic overview articles are anticipated in this special issue to describe the detailed results and findings of the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment.
In a phase III trial in patients with advanced, well-differentiated, progressive pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, sunitinib 37.5 mg/day improved investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS) ...versus placebo (11.4 versus 5.5 months; HR, 0.42; P < 0.001). Here, we present PFS using retrospective blinded independent central review (BICR) and final median overall survival (OS), including an assessment highlighting the impact of patient crossover from placebo to sunitinib.
In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, cross-sectional imaging from patients was evaluated retrospectively by blinded third-party radiologists using a two-reader, two-time-point lock, followed by a sequential locked-read, batch-mode paradigm. OS was summarized using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model. Crossover-adjusted OS effect was derived using rank-preserving structural failure time (RPSFT) analyses.
Of 171 randomized patients (sunitinib, n = 86; placebo, n = 85), 160 (94%) had complete scan sets/time points. By BICR, median (95% confidence interval CI) PFS was 12.6 (11.1–20.6) months for sunitinib and 5.8 (3.8–7.2) months for placebo (HR, 0.32; 95% CI 0.18–0.55; P = 0.000015). Five years after study closure, median (95% CI) OS was 38.6 (25.6–56.4) months for sunitinib and 29.1 (16.4–36.8) months for placebo (HR, 0.73; 95% CI 0.50–1.06; P = 0.094), with 69% of placebo patients having crossed over to sunitinib. RPSFT analysis confirmed an OS benefit for sunitinib.
BICR confirmed the doubling of PFS with sunitinib compared with placebo. Although the observed median OS improved by nearly 10 months, the effect estimate did not reach statistical significance, potentially due to crossover from placebo to sunitinib.
NCT00428597.
The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) carries out its primary planetary defense mission by surveying about 13,000 deg2 at least four times per night. The resulting data set is ...useful for the discovery of variable stars to a magnitude limit fainter than r ∼ 18, with amplitudes down to 0.02 mag for bright objects. Here, we present a Data Release One catalog of variable stars based on analyzing the light curves of 142 million stars that were measured at least 100 times in the first two years of ATLAS operations. Using a Lomb-Scargle periodogram and other variability metrics, we identify 4.7 million candidate variables. Through the Space Telescope Science Institute, we publicly release light curves for all of them, together with a vector of 169 classification features for each star. We do this at the level of unconfirmed candidate variables in order to provide the community with a large set of homogeneously analyzed photometry and to avoid pre-judging which types of objects others may find most interesting. We use machine learning to classify the candidates into 15 different broad categories based on light-curve morphology. About 10% (427,000 stars) pass extensive tests designed to screen out spurious variability detections: we label these as "probable" variables. Of these, 214,000 receive specific classifications as eclipsing binaries, pulsating, Mira-type, or sinusoidal variables: these are the "classified" variables. New discoveries among the probable variables number 315,000, while 141,000 of the classified variables are new, including about 10,400 pulsating variables, 2060 Mira stars, and 74,700 eclipsing binaries.
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