The Cumberland drill sample from the Sheepbed mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars, revealed the first evidence of an indigenous Martian organic molecule, chlorobenzene, with the Sample Analysis at Mars ...(SAM) instrument on Curiosity. We created in the laboratory a mineralogical analog of the Cumberland sample (CBA) to aid in the understanding of the precursor organic molecule(s) that led to the detection of chlorobenzene. The CBA was analyzed by visible/near-infrared spectrometry, and the results are in accordance with Mastcam multispectral and the Chemical Camera passive analyses of Cumberland on Mars, demonstrating that the CBA is a relevant analog. CBA aliquots were spiked with 0.5 wt. % of benzoic acid and 1-2 wt. % of magnesium perchlorate and were run in SAM Testbed (TB). The TB evolved gas analysis (EGA) showed similarities with the Cumberland EGA on Mars in terms of the major volatiles H2O, CO2, and O2. The TB gas chromatography mass spectrometry displayed the presence of chlorobenzene at 23-28 pmol and dichlorobenzene. CBA aliquots were also analyzed in the laboratory with SAM-like EGA and the results on the laboratory setup confirmed the generation of chlorobenzene by a reaction between the benzoic acid and the magnesium perchlorates. The case for benzoic acid as a potential precursor for the chlorobenzene detected in the Martian regolith is strengthened with this new supporting laboratory data from the CBA. The quantification of chlorobenzene in the TB led to prediction of organic precursor abundance on Mars of hundreds, if not thousands, of parts per millions by weight.
Background Hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (MI) in the United States is both common and expensive, but those features alone provide little insight into cost-saving opportunities. ...Methods and Results To understand the cost drivers during hospitalization for acute MI and in the following year, we prospectively studied 11 969 patients with acute MI undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention at 233 US hospitals (2010-2013) from the TRANSLATE-ACS (Treatment With ADP Receptor Inhibitors: Longitudinal Assessment of Treatment Patterns and Events After Acute Coronary Syndrome) registry. Baseline costs were collected in a random subset (n=4619 patients, 54% ST-segment-elevation MI STEMI), while follow-up costs out to 1 year were collected for all patients. The mean index length of stay was 3.1 days (for both STEMI and non-STEMI) and mean intensive care unit length of stay was 1.2 days (1.4 days for STEMI and 1.0 days for non-STEMI). Index hospital costs averaged $18 931 ($19 327 for STEMI, $18 465 for non-STEMI), with 45% catheterization laboratory-related and 20% attributable to postprocedure hospital stay. Patient factors, including severity of illness and extent of coronary disease, and hospital characteristics, including for profit status and geographic region, identified significant variations in cost. Intensive care was used for 53% of non-STEMI and increased costs by $3282. Postdischarge 1-year costs averaged $8037, and 48% of patients were rehospitalized (half within 2 months and 57% with a cardiovascular diagnosis). Conclusions While much of the cost of patients with acute MI treated with percutaneous coronary intervention is probably not modifiable by the care team, cost reductions are still possible through quality-preserving practice efficiencies, such as need-based use rather than routine use of intensive care unit for patients with stable non-STEMI. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT00097591.
The selection of a suitable nest‐site is critical for successful reproduction. Species' preferences for nest‐sites have presumably evolved in relation to local habitat resources and/or interactions ...with other species. The importance of these two components in the nest‐site selection of the Eurasian Honey Buzzard
P
ernis apivorus
was assessed in two study areas in eastern Austria. There was almost no difference in macro‐ and micro‐habitat features between nest‐sites and random plots, suggesting that Honey Buzzards did not base their choice of nest‐site on habitat characteristics. However, nests were placed significantly further from nests of Northern Goshawk
A
ccipiter gentilis
than would be expected if nest‐sites had been chosen at random. Furthermore, in one study area Honey Buzzards appeared to favour areas close to human settlements, perhaps indicating a mechanism to avoid Goshawks, which tend to avoid the proximity of humans. No habitat variable was significantly associated with the loss of Honey Buzzard young, but predation was higher in territories closer to breeding pairs of Goshawks at both study sites. Although Honey Buzzards are restricted to nesting in forests, their choice of nest‐site therefore appears to be largely dictated by the distribution of predators. Studies of habitat association may yield misleading results if the effects of predation risk on distribution are not considered.
Editors of several journals in the field of hydrology met during the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) in Vienna in April 2017. This event was a follow‐up of similar meetings ...held in 2013 and 2015. These meetings enable the group of editors to review the current status of the journals and the publication process, and to share thoughts on future strategies. Journals were represented at the 2017 meeting by their editors, as shown in the list of authors. The main points on invigorating hydrological research through journal publications are communicated in this joint editorial published in our journals.
Abstract
Editors of several journals in the field of hydrology met during the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union – EGU in Vienna in April 2017. This event was a follow-up of similar ...meetings held in 2013 and 2015. These meetings enable the group of editors to review the current status of the journals and the publication process, and to share thoughts on future strategies. Journals were represented at the 2017 meeting by their editors, as shown in the list of authors. The main points on invigorating hydrological research through journal publications are communicated in this joint editorial published in the journals listed here.
Editors of several journals in the field of hydrology met during the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union—EGU in Vienna in April 2017. This event was a follow-up of similar meetings ...held in 2013 and 2015. These meetings enable the group of editors to review the current status of the journals and the publication process, and to share thoughts on future strategies. Journals were represented at the 2017 meeting by their editors, as shown in the list of authors. The main points on invigorating hydrological research through journal publications are communicated in this joint editorial published in the above journals.
OBJECTIVEThe primary intent for obtaining screening logs in a randomized clinical trial is to assess selection bias in patient recruitment. This is particularly relevant to focused trials in ...heterogeneous populations such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. We aimed to investigate the benefits of collecting screening logs in two randomized clinical trials conducted in TBI.METHODSScreening logs were collected as part of the conduct of two multicenter trials of neuroprotective agents in TBI: the Salzburg Atherosclerosis Prevention Program in Subjects at High Individual Risk study (n = 924) and the dexanabinol study (n = 861). Centers were requested to submit monthly information on all patients with TBI admitted to the intensive care unit, including demographics, time of injury and admission, injury severity, and, if not recruited, the reason(s) for exclusion.RESULTSIn the Salzburg Atherosclerosis Prevention Program in Subjects at High Individual Risk study, 52 centers submitted admission data on 4166 patients. In the dexanabinol trial, 96 centers submitted data on 7052 patients. On average, only 20% of patients screened for the Salzburg Atherosclerosis Prevention Program in Subjects at High Individual Risk study and 10% for the dexanabinol trial were enrolled. The main reasons for exclusion were neurological status (29 and 26%, respectively), age (24 and 30%, respectively), and admission outside of the time window (17 and 21%, respectively). Differences in patient characteristics between screened and enrolled patients, with substantial country-specific variation, were observed.CONCLUSIONThe collection of screening logs is necessary to report trial results according to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials guidelines and to assess the generalizability of findings. Our experience shows the feasibility of collecting screening logs and illustrates how the potential for selection bias may creep into well-designed randomized clinical trials as a result of factors outside the control of investigators. Consistency and accuracy in screening log completion may further serve as an early indicator of center performance in a trial.
We describe the HST ACS Coma Cluster Treasury survey, a deep two- passband imaging survey of one of the nearest rich clusters of galaxies, the Coma Cluster (Abell 1656). The survey was designed to ...cover an area of 740 arcmin super(2) in regions of different density of both galaxies and intergalactic medium within the cluster. The ACS failure of 2007 January 27 leaves the survey 28% complete, with 21 ACS pointings (230 arcmin super(2)) complete, and partial data for a further four pointings (44 arcmin super(2)). The predicted survey depth for 10 capital sigma detections for optimal photometry of point sources is image in the F475W filter and image mag in F814 (AB magnitudes). Initial simulations with artificially injected point sources show 90% recovered at magnitude limits of image and image. For extended sources, the predicted 10 capital sigma limits for a 1 arcsec super(2) region are image mag arcsec super(-2) and image mag arcsec super(-2). We highlight several motivating science goals of the survey, including study of the faint end of the cluster galaxy luminosity function, structural parameters of dwarf galaxies, stellar populations and their effect on colors and color gradients, evolution of morphological components in a dense environment, the nature of ultracompact dwarf galaxies, and globular cluster populations of cluster galaxies of a range of luminosities and types. This survey will also provide a local rich cluster benchmark for various well-known global scaling relations and explore new relations pertaining to the nuclear properties of galaxies.
Elevated blood pressure (BP), a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, is influenced by both genetic and lifestyle factors. Cigarette smoking is one such lifestyle factor. Across five ...ancestries, we performed a genome-wide gene–smoking interaction study of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP) in 129 913 individuals in stage 1 and follow-up analysis in 480 178 additional individuals in stage 2. We report here 136 loci significantly associated with MAP and/or PP. Of these, 61 were previously published through main-effect analysis of BP traits, 37 were recently reported by us for systolic BP and/or diastolic BP through gene–smoking interaction analysis and 38 were newly identified (P < 5 × 10−8, false discovery rate < 0.05). We also identified nine new signals near known loci. Of the 136 loci, 8 showed significant interaction with smoking status. They include CSMD1 previously reported for insulin resistance and BP in the spontaneously hypertensive rats. Many of the 38 new loci show biologic plausibility for a role in BP regulation. SLC26A7 encodes a chloride/bicarbonate exchanger expressed in the renal outer medullary collecting duct. AVPR1A is widely expressed, including in vascular smooth muscle cells, kidney, myocardium and brain. FHAD1 is a long non-coding RNA overexpressed in heart failure. TMEM51 was associated with contractile function in cardiomyocytes. CASP9 plays a central role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Identified only in African ancestry were 30 novel loci. Our findings highlight the value of multi-ancestry investigations, particularly in studies of interaction with lifestyle factors, where genomic and lifestyle differences may contribute to novel findings.
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