Abstract Post-COVID Syndrome has emerged as a significant public health concern worldwide with increasing evidence to suggest that individuals who have had an acute COVID-19 infection report ...lingering memory and attention difficulties, even in individuals who have fully recovered and no longer experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. The present study sought to investigate the profile of objective and subjective cognitive difficulties in people who have Post-COVID Syndrome, people who have fully recovered from an acute COVID infection and people who have never had COVID-19. We further sought to explore the extent to which self-reported fatigue and stress are related to subjective and objective cognitive difficulties. 162 participants including 50 people living with Post-COVID Syndrome, 59 people who have had COVID-19 but have fully recovered and 53 people who have never experienced symptoms of COVID-19 and had never tested positive for COVID-19 were recruited from Academic Prolific to complete a series of online questionnaires and neurocognitive tasks. Subjective cognitive function was measured using the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire and objective cognitive function was measured using the Cognitron cognitive test battery. We found that objective and subjective measures of cognitive function were not significantly related, suggesting that self-reports of “brain fog” are not reflecting objectively measured cognitive dysfunction. A MANOVA revealed that subjective cognitive deficits were driven by heightened perceived stress and fatigue and not significantly related to COVID-19 status. Objective cognitive function, however, was significantly related to perceived stress and COVID status whereby we observed significant objective cognitive deficits in people who have been exposed to an acute COVID-19 infection regardless of whether they had Post-COVID Syndrome or had fully recovered, as compared to people who had never had COVID-19. This suggests that an acute infection can have long term effects on cognitive function, even without persistent COVID-19 symptoms. Encouragingly, objective cognitive function was significantly associated with time since initial infection showing that cognitive deficits improved over time for people who had recovered from COVID-19. However, we did not observe the same improvement in individuals with Post-COVID Syndrome and observed that cognitive dysfunction was significantly related to the number of neurological symptoms presently experienced. These results add to the accumulating literature that COVID-19 is associated with significant cognitive difficulties following a COVID-19 infection, which appear to improve over time for those who have recovered from COVID-19 yet persist in people living with Post-COVID Syndrome.
We examine the kinematic morphology of early-type galaxies (ETGs) in three galaxy clusters Abell 85, 168 and 2399. Using data from the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph we measure ...spatially resolved kinematics for 79 ETGs in these clusters. We calculate λ
R
, a proxy for the projected specific stellar angular momentum, for each galaxy and classify the 79 ETGs in our samples as fast or slow rotators. We calculate the fraction of slow rotators in the ETG populations (f
SR) of the clusters to be 0.21 ± 0.08, 0.08 ± 0.08 and 0.12 ± 0.06 for Abell 85, 168 and 2399, respectively, with an overall fraction of 0.15 ± 0.04. These numbers are broadly consistent with the values found in the literature, confirming recent work asserting that the fraction of slow rotators in the ETG population is constant across many orders of magnitude in global environment. We examine the distribution of kinematic classes in each cluster as a function of environment using the projected density of galaxies: the kinematic morphology–density relation. We find that in Abell 85 f
SR increases in higher density regions but in Abell 168 and 2399 this trend is not seen. We examine the differences between the individual clusters to explain this. In addition, we find slow rotators on the outskirts of two of the clusters studied, Abell 85 and 2399. These galaxies reside in intermediate to low density regions and have clearly not formed at the centre of a cluster environment. We hypothesize that they formed at the centres of groups and are falling into the clusters for the first time.
We present the SAMI Pilot Survey, consisting of integral field spectroscopy of 106 galaxies across three galaxy clusters, Abell 85, Abell 168 and Abell 2399. The galaxies were selected by absolute ...magnitude to have M
r
< −20.25 mag. The survey, using the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph (SAMI), comprises observations of galaxies of all morphological types with 75 per cent of the sample being early-type galaxies (ETGs) and 25 per cent being late-type galaxies (LTGs). Stellar velocity and velocity dispersion maps are derived for all 106 galaxies in the sample. The λ
R
parameter, a proxy for the specific stellar angular momentum, is calculated for each galaxy in the sample. We find a trend between λ
R
and galaxy concentration such that LTGs are less concentrated higher angular momentum systems, with the fast-rotating ETGs (FRs) more concentrated and lower in angular momentum. This suggests that some dynamical processes are involved in transforming LTGs to FRs, though a significant overlap between the λ
R
distributions of these classes of galaxies implies that this is just one piece of a more complicated picture. We measure the kinematic misalignment angle, Ψ, for the ETGs in the sample, to probe the intrinsic shapes of the galaxies. We find the majority of FRs (83 per cent) to be aligned, consistent with them being oblate spheroids (i.e. discs). The slow rotating ETGs (SRs), on the other hand, are significantly more likely to show kinematic misalignment (only 38 per cent are aligned). This confirms previous results that SRs are likely to be mildly triaxial systems.
Triangulated observations of fireballs allow us to determine orbits and fall positions for meteorites. The great majority of basaltic meteorites are derived from the asteroid 4 Vesta. We report on a ...recent fall that has orbital properties and an oxygen isotope composition that suggest a distinct parent body. Although its orbit was almost entirely contained within Earth's orbit, modeling indicates that it originated from the innermost main belt. Because the meteorite parent body would likely be classified as a V-type asteroid, V-type precursors for basaltic meteorites unrelated to Vesta may reside in the inner main belt. This starting location is in agreement with predictions of a planetesimal evolution model that postulates the formation of differentiated asteroids in the terrestrial planet region, with surviving fragments concentrated in the innermost main belt.
Chondritic meteorites are fragments of asteroids, the building blocks of planets, that retain a record of primordial processes. Important in their early evolution was impact-driven lithification, ...where a porous mixture of millimetre-scale chondrule inclusions and sub-micrometre dust was compacted into rock. In this Article, the shock compression of analogue precursor chondrite material was probed using state of the art dynamic X-ray radiography. Spatially-resolved shock and particle velocities, and shock front thicknesses were extracted directly from the radiographs, representing a greatly enhanced scope of data than could be measured in surface-based studies. A statistical interpretation of the measured velocities showed that mean values were in good agreement with those predicted using continuum-level modelling and mixture theory. However, the distribution and evolution of wave velocities and wavefront thicknesses were observed to be intimately linked to the mesoscopic structure of the sample. This Article provides the first detailed experimental insight into the distribution of extreme states within a shocked powder mixture, and represents the first mesoscopic validation of leading theories concerning the variation in extreme pressure-temperature states during the formation of primordial planetary bodies.
Murrili, the third meteorite recovered by the Desert Fireball Network, is analyzed using mineralogy, oxygen isotopes, bulk chemistry, physical properties, noble gases, and cosmogenic radionuclides. ...The modal mineralogy, bulk chemistry, magnetic susceptibility, physical properties, and oxygen isotopes of Murrili point to it being an H5 ordinary chondrite. It is heterogeneously shocked (S2–S5), depending on the method used to determine it, although Murrili is not obviously brecciated in texture. Cosmogenic radionuclides yield a cosmic ray exposure age of 6–8 Ma, and a pre‐atmospheric meteoroid size of 15–20 cm in radius. Murrili’s fall and subsequent month‐long embedment into the salt lake Kati Thanda significantly altered the whole rock, evident in its Mössbauer spectra, and visual inspection of cut sections. Murrili may have experienced minor, but subsequent, impacts after its formation 4475.3 ± 2.3 Ma, which left it heterogeneously shocked.
The INSPIRE-2 CubeSat for the QB50 Project Cairns, Iver H.; Charles, Christine; Dempster, Andrew G. ...
Space science reviews,
04/2020, Volume:
216, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The 2-unit CubeSat INSPIRE-2/AU03 was designed, built, tested, delivered, and accepted by the European Union’s QB50 project in less than 10 months and for less than US$120,000 in non-salary outlays ...including launch, despite being a first satellite. It carried 5 instruments (a multi-Needle Langmuir Probe, a diffraction-limited spectrograph, an advanced GPS receiver, and 2 radiation detectors) and the satellite hardware included both Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) and Australian components. INSPIRE-2 was deployed into space from the International Space Station by Nanoracks on 26 May 2017 following an Atlas V launch. The satellite was brought online a month after launch as a result of a major campaign with the international radio amateur community. The uplink function of the Communications board was badly damaged in July 2017 in the first of that year’s two major, extended, space weather periods, plausibly due to radiation damage. While INSPIRE-2’s radio beacons were resurrected and continued for over a year the Communications board’s handshaking protocols meant that downlinking of data was not possible. INSPIRE-2 lived for over a year in space with mostly functioning systems. This paper summarises the major firsts and importance of INSPIRE-2 and its fellow Australian QB50 CubeSats UNSW-EC0 and SuSat (e.g., the first Australian CubeSats and the first Australian-built satellites in 16 years), as well as the science and technical goals, instruments, spacecraft systems, recovery, initial data, and evidence that the major space weather events of 12 July - 4 August 2017 significantly damaged INSPIRE-2 and caused an outage from 26 July to 5 September 2017. It also discusses the lessons learned and the reasons why CubeSats in constellations like QB50, whether international or Australian, provide excellent opportunities for scientific, technical, and commercial development, public outreach and engagement, and international engagement.
Mason Gully, the second meteorite recovered using the Desert Fireball Network (DFN), is characterized using petrography, mineralogy, oxygen isotopes, bulk chemistry, and physical properties. ...Geochemical data are consistent with its classification as an H5 ordinary chondrite. Several properties distinguish it from most other H chondrites. Its 10.7% porosity is predominantly macroscopic, present as intergranular void spaces rather than microscopic cracks. Modal mineralogy (determined via PS‐XRD, element mapping via energy dispersive spectroscopy EDS, and X‐ray tomography for sulfide, metal, and porosity volume fractions) consistently gives an unusually low olivine/orthopyroxene ratio (0.67−0.76 for Mason Gully versus ~1.3 for typical H5 ordinary chondrites). Widespread “silicate darkening” is observed. In addition, it contains a bright green crystalline object at the surface of the recovered stone (diameter ≈ 1.5 mm), which has a tridymite core with minor α‐quartz and a rim of both low‐ and high‐Ca pyroxene. The mineralogy allows the calculation of the temperatures and ƒ(O2) characterizing thermal metamorphism on the parent body using both the two‐pyroxene and the olivine‐chromite geo‐oxybarometers. These indicate that MG experienced a peak metamorphic temperature of ~900 °C and had a similar ƒ(O2) to Kernouvé (H6) that was buffered by the reaction between olivine, metal, and pyroxene. There is no evidence for shock, consistent with the observed porosity structure. Thus, while Mason Gully has some unique properties, its geochemistry indicates a similar thermal evolution to other H chondrites. The presence of tridymite, while rare, is seen in other OCs and likely exogenous; however, the green object itself may result from metamorphism.
Many epidemiological studies have shown positive short-term associations between health and current levels of outdoor air pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between ...air pollution and the number of visits to accident and emergency (A&E) departments in London for respiratory complaints. A&E visits include the less severe cases of acute respiratory disease and are unrestricted by bed availability. Daily counts of visits to 12 London A&E departments for asthma, other respiratory complaints, and both combined for a number of age groups were constructed from manual registers of visits for the period 1992-1994. A Poisson regression allowing for seasonal patterns, meteorological conditions and influenza epidemics was used to assess the associations between the number of visits and six pollutants: nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particles measured as black smoke (BS) and particles with a median aerodynamic diameter of <10 microm (PM10). After making an allowance for the multiplicity of tests, there remained strong associations between visits for all respiratory complaints and increases in SO2: a 2.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7-4.9) increase in the number of visits for a 18 microg x (-3) increase (10th-90th percentile range) and a 3.0% (95% CI 0.8-5.2) increase for a 31 microg x m(-3) increase in PM10. There were also significant associations between visits for asthma and SO2, NO2 and PM10. No significant associations between O3 and any of the respiratory complaints investigated were found. Because of the strong correlation between pollutants, it was difficult to identify a single pollutant responsible for the associations found in the analyses. This study suggests that the levels of air pollution currently experienced in London are linked to short-term increases in the number of people visiting accident and emergency departments with respiratory complaints.
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