ABSTRACT
We present results from our on-going MusE GAs FLOw and Wind (MEGAFLOW) survey, which consists of 22 quasar lines of sight, each observed with the integral field unit MUSE and the UVES ...spectrograph at the ESO Very Large Telescopes (VLT). The goals of this survey are to study the properties of the circumgalactic medium around z ∼ 1 star-forming galaxies. The absorption-line selected survey consists of 79 strong Mg ii absorbers (with rest-frame equivalent width ≳0.3 Å) and, currently, 86 associated galaxies within 100 projected kpc of the quasar with stellar masses (M⋆) from 109 to 1011 M⊙. We find that the cool halo gas traced by Mg ii is not isotropically distributed around these galaxies from the strong bi-modal distribution in the azimuthal angle of the apparent location of the quasar with respect to the galaxy major axis. This supports a scenario in which outflows are bi-conical in nature and co-exist with a co-planar gaseous structure extending at least up to 60–80 kpc. Assuming that absorbers near the minor axis probe outflows, the current MEGAFLOW sample allowed us to select 26 galaxy–quasar pairs suitable for studying winds. From this sample, using a simple geometrical model, we find that the outflow velocity only exceeds the escape velocity when M⋆ ≲ 4 × 109 M⊙, implying the cool material is likely to fall back except in the smallest haloes. Finally, we find that the mass loading factor η, the ratio between the ejected mass rate and the star formation rate, appears to be roughly constant with respect to the galaxy mass.
ABSTRACT
We study the effect of the gas accretion rate ($\dot{M}_{\rm accr}$) on the radial gas metallicity profile (RMP) of galaxies using the eagle cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, focusing ...on central galaxies of stellar mass M⋆ ≳ 109 M⊙ at z ≤ 1. We find clear relations between $\dot{M}_{\rm accr}$ and the slope of the RMP (measured within an effective radius), where higher $\dot{M}_{\rm accr}$ are associated with more negative slopes. The slope of the RMPs depends more strongly on $\dot{M}_{\rm accr}$ than on stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), or gas fraction, suggesting $\dot{M}_{\rm accr}$ to be a more fundamental driver of the RMP slope of galaxies. We find that eliminating the dependence on stellar mass is essential for pinning down the properties that shape the slope of the RMP. Although $\dot{M}_{\rm accr}$ is the main property modulating the slope of the RMP, we find that it causes other correlations that are more easily testable observationally: At fixed stellar mass, galaxies with more negative RMP slopes tend to have higher gas fractions and SFRs, while galaxies with lower gas fractions and SFRs tend to have flatter metallicity profiles within an effective radius.
Hunter-gatherer exchange networks dampen subsistence and reproductive risks by building relationships of mutual support outside local groups that are underwritten by symbolic gift exchange. Hxaro, ...the system of delayed reciprocity between Ju/’hoãn individuals in southern Africa’s Kalahari Desert, is the best-known such example and the basis for most analogies and models of hunter-gatherer exchange in prehistory. However, its antiquity, drivers, and development remain unclear, as they do for long-distance exchanges among African foragers more broadly. Here we show through strontium isotope analyses of ostrich eggshell beads from highland Lesotho, and associated strontium isoscape development, that such practices stretch back into the late Middle Stone Age. We argue that these exchange items originated beyond the macroband from groups occupying the more water-stressed subcontinental interior. Tracking the emergence and persistence of macroscale, transbiome social networks helps illuminate the evolution of social strategies needed to thrive in stochastic environments, strategies that in our case study show persistence over more than 33,000 y.
Vertebroplasty has become a common treatment for painful osteoporotic vertebral fractures, but there is limited evidence to support its use.
We performed a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, ...placebo-controlled trial in which participants with one or two painful osteoporotic vertebral fractures that were of less than 12 months' duration and unhealed, as confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging, were randomly assigned to undergo vertebroplasty or a sham procedure. Participants were stratified according to treatment center, sex, and duration of symptoms (< 6 weeks or > or = 6 weeks). Outcomes were assessed at 1 week and at 1, 3, and 6 months. The primary outcome was overall pain (on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the maximum imaginable pain) at 3 months.
A total of 78 participants were enrolled, and 71 (35 of 38 in the vertebroplasty group and 36 of 40 in the placebo group) completed the 6-month follow-up (91%). Vertebroplasty did not result in a significant advantage in any measured outcome at any time point. There were significant reductions in overall pain in both study groups at each follow-up assessment. At 3 months, the mean (+/-SD) reductions in the score for pain in the vertebroplasty and control groups were 2.6+/-2.9 and 1.9+/-3.3, respectively (adjusted between-group difference, 0.6; 95% confidence interval, -0.7 to 1.8). Similar improvements were seen in both groups with respect to pain at night and at rest, physical functioning, quality of life, and perceived improvement. Seven incident vertebral fractures (three in the vertebroplasty group and four in the placebo group) occurred during the 6-month follow-up period.
We found no beneficial effect of vertebroplasty as compared with a sham procedure in patients with painful osteoporotic vertebral fractures, at 1 week or at 1, 3, or 6 months after treatment. (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN012605000079640.)
Abstract
It is now possible for hydrodynamical simulations to reproduce a representative galaxy population. Accordingly, it is timely to assess critically some of the assumptions of traditional ...semi-analytic galaxy formation models. We use the eagle simulations to assess assumptions built into the galform semi-analytic model, focusing on those relating to baryon cycling, angular momentum and feedback. We show that the assumption in galform that newly formed stars have the same specific angular momentum as the total disc leads to a significant overestimate of the total stellar specific angular momentum of disc galaxies. In eagle, stars form preferentially out of low-specific angular momentum gas in the interstellar medium due to the assumed gas density threshold for stars to form, leading to more realistic galaxy sizes. We find that stellar mass assembly is similar between galform and eagle but that the evolution of gas properties is different, with various indications that the rate of baryon cycling in eagle is slower than is assumed in galform. Finally, by matching individual galaxies between eagle and galform, we find that an artificial dependence of active galactic nucleus feedback and gas infall rates on halo mass-doubling events in galform drives most of the scatter in stellar mass between individual objects. Put together our results suggest that the galform semi-analytic model can be significantly improved in light of recent advances.
Basilar artery occlusion is associated with high risk of disability and mortality. This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of a new radiological score: the Basilar Artery on Computed ...Tomography Angiography (BATMAN) score.
A retrospective analysis of consecutive stroke patients with basilar artery occlusion diagnosed on computed tomographic angiography was performed. BATMAN score is a 10-point computed tomographic angiography-based grading system which incorporates thrombus burden and the presence of collaterals. Reliability was assessed with intraclass coefficient correlation. Good outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale score of ≤3 at 3 months and successful reperfusion as thrombolysis in cerebral infarction 2b-3. BATMAN score was externally validated and compared with the Posterior Circulation Collateral score.
The derivation cohort included 83 patients with 41 in the validation cohort. In receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, BATMAN score had an area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.81 (95% confidence interval CI, 0.7-0.9) in derivation cohort and an area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.74 (95% CI, 0.6-0.9) in validation cohort. In logistic regression adjusted for age and clinical severity, BATMAN score of <7 was associated with poor outcome in derivation cohort (odds ratio, 5.5; 95% CI, 1.4-21;
=0.01), in validation cohort (odds ratio, 6.9; 95% CI, 1.4-33;
=0.01), and in endovascular patients, after adjustment for recanalization and time to treatment (odds ratio, 4.8; 95% CI, 1.2-18;
=0.01). BATMAN score of <7 was not associated with recanalization. Interrater agreement was substantial (intraclass coefficient correlation, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.8-0.9). BATMAN score had greater accuracy compared with Posterior Circulation Collateral score (
=0.04).
The addition of collateral quality to clot burden in BATMAN score seems to improve prognostic accuracy in basilar artery occlusion patients.
A proportion of large vessel occlusion strokes demonstrate early recanalization, obviating the initial intention to proceed to endovascular thrombectomy. Neurological improvement is a possible ...surrogate marker for reperfusion. We aimed to determine the optimal threshold of neurological improvement, as defined by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), which best associates with early recanalization.
We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients with large vessel occlusion transferred from primary stroke centers to a tertiary comprehensive stroke center in Melbourne, Australia, for possible endovascular thrombectomy from January 2018 to December 2022. Absolute and percentage changes in NIHSS between transfer, as well as other definitions of neurological improvement, were compared using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for association with recanalization as defined by the absence of occlusion in the internal carotid artery, middle cerebral artery (M1 or M2 segments), or basilar artery on repeat vascular imaging.
Six hundred and fifty-four transferred patients with large vessel occlusion were included in the analysis: mean age was 68.8±14.0 years, 301 (46.0%) were women, and 338 (52%) received intravenous thrombolytics. The proportion of extracranial internal carotid artery, intracranial internal carotid artery, M1, proximal M2, and basilar artery occlusion was 18.8%, 13.6%, 48.3%, 15.0%, and 4.3%, respectively, on initial computed tomography angiogram. Median NIHSS
and NIHSS
scores were 15 (interquartile range, 9-18) and 13 (interquartile range, 8-19), respectively. Early recanalization occurred in 82 (13%) patients. NIHSS reduction of ≥33% was the best tradeoff between sensitivity (64%) and specificity (83%) for identifying recanalization. NIHSS reduction of ≥33% had the highest discriminative ability to predict recanalization (area under the curve, 0.735) in comparison with other definitions of neurological improvement.
One-third neurological improvement between the primary hospital and tertiary center was the best predictor of early recanalization.
Abstract
We analyse the properties of circumgalactic gas around simulated galaxies in the redshift range z ≥ 3, utilizing a new sample of cosmological zoom simulations. These simulations are intended ...to be representative of the observed samples of Lyman α (Ly α) emitters recently obtained with the multi unit spectroscopic explorer (MUSE) instrument (halo masses ∼1010–1011 M⊙). We show that supernova feedback has a significant impact on both the inflowing and outflowing circumgalactic medium (CGM) by driving outflows, reducing diffuse inflow rates, and by increasing the neutral fraction of inflowing gas. By temporally stacking simulation outputs, we find that significant net mass exchange occurs between inflowing and outflowing phases: none of the phases are mass-conserving. In particular, we find that the mass in neutral outflowing hydrogen declines exponentially with radius as gas flows outwards from the halo centre. This is likely caused by a combination of both fountain-like cycling processes and gradual photoionization/collisional ionization of outflowing gas. Our simulations do not predict the presence of fast-moving neutral outflows in the CGM. Neutral outflows instead move with modest radial velocities (∼50 km s−1), and the majority of the kinetic energy is associated with tangential rather than radial motion.
It has been argued that the specific star formation rates of star-forming galaxies inferred from observational data decline more rapidly below z = 2 than is predicted by hierarchical galaxy formation ...models. We present a detailed analysis of this problem by comparing predictions from the galform semi-analytic model with an extensive compilation of data on the average star formation rates of star-forming galaxies. We also use this data to infer the form of the stellar mass assembly histories of star-forming galaxies. Our analysis reveals that the currently available data favour a scenario where the stellar mass assembly histories of star-forming galaxies rise at early times and then fall towards the present day. In contrast, our model predicts stellar mass assembly histories that are almost flat below z = 2 for star-forming galaxies, such that the predicted star formation rates can be offset with respect to the observational data by factors of up to 2–3. This disagreement can be explained by the level of coevolution between stellar and halo mass assembly that exists in contemporary galaxy formation models. In turn, this arises because the standard implementations of star formation and supernova feedback used in the models result in the efficiencies of these process remaining approximately constant over the lifetime of a given star-forming galaxy. We demonstrate how a modification to the time-scale for gas ejected by feedback to be reincorporated into galaxy haloes can help to reconcile the model predictions with the data.