Showing papers by "University of Portsmouth published in 2018"
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Bela Abolfathi1, D. S. Aguado2, Gabriela Aguilar3, Carlos Allende Prieto2 +361 more•Institutions (94)
TL;DR: SDSS-IV is the fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and has been in operation since 2014 July. as discussed by the authors describes the second data release from this phase, and the 14th from SDSS overall (making this Data Release Fourteen or DR14).
Abstract: The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since 2014 July. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the 14th from SDSS overall (making this Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes the data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (2014-2016 July) public. Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey; the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data-driven machine-learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from the SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS web site (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020 and will be followed by SDSS-V.
965 citations
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TL;DR: A major ocean plastic accumulation zone formed in subtropical waters between California and Hawaii: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is characterised and quantified, suggesting that ocean plastic pollution within the GPGP is increasing exponentially and at a faster rate than in surrounding waters.
Abstract: Ocean plastic can persist in sea surface waters, eventually accumulating in remote areas of the world’s oceans. Here we characterise and quantify a major ocean plastic accumulation zone formed in subtropical waters between California and Hawaii: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). Our model, calibrated with data from multi-vessel and aircraft surveys, predicted at least 79 (45–129) thousand tonnes of ocean plastic are floating inside an area of 1.6 million km2; a figure four to sixteen times higher than previously reported. We explain this difference through the use of more robust methods to quantify larger debris. Over three-quarters of the GPGP mass was carried by debris larger than 5 cm and at least 46% was comprised of fishing nets. Microplastics accounted for 8% of the total mass but 94% of the estimated 1.8 (1.1–3.6) trillion pieces floating in the area. Plastic collected during our study has specific characteristics such as small surface-to-volume ratio, indicating that only certain types of debris have the capacity to persist and accumulate at the surface of the GPGP. Finally, our results suggest that ocean plastic pollution within the GPGP is increasing exponentially and at a faster rate than in surrounding waters.
959 citations
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TL;DR: 3D structure of a newly discovered enzyme that can digest highly crystalline PET, the primary material used in the manufacture of single-use plastic beverage bottles, in some clothing, and in carpets is characterized and it is shown that PETase degrades another semiaromatic polyester, polyethylene-2,5-furandicarboxylate (PEF), which is an emerging, bioderived PET replacement with improved barrier properties.
Abstract: Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most abundantly produced synthetic polymers and is accumulating in the environment at a staggering rate as discarded packaging and textiles. The properties that make PET so useful also endow it with an alarming resistance to biodegradation, likely lasting centuries in the environment. Our collective reliance on PET and other plastics means that this buildup will continue unless solutions are found. Recently, a newly discovered bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, was shown to exhibit the rare ability to grow on PET as a major carbon and energy source. Central to its PET biodegradation capability is a secreted PETase (PET-digesting enzyme). Here, we present a 0.92 A resolution X-ray crystal structure of PETase, which reveals features common to both cutinases and lipases. PETase retains the ancestral α/β-hydrolase fold but exhibits a more open active-site cleft than homologous cutinases. By narrowing the binding cleft via mutation of two active-site residues to conserved amino acids in cutinases, we surprisingly observe improved PET degradation, suggesting that PETase is not fully optimized for crystalline PET degradation, despite presumably evolving in a PET-rich environment. Additionally, we show that PETase degrades another semiaromatic polyester, polyethylene-2,5-furandicarboxylate (PEF), which is an emerging, bioderived PET replacement with improved barrier properties. In contrast, PETase does not degrade aliphatic polyesters, suggesting that it is generally an aromatic polyesterase. These findings suggest that additional protein engineering to increase PETase performance is realistic and highlight the need for further developments of structure/activity relationships for biodegradation of synthetic polyesters.
545 citations
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TL;DR: The first public data release of the DES DR1 dataset is described in this paper, consisting of reduced single-epoch images, co-add images, and co-added source catalogs, and associated products and services.
Abstract: We describe the first public data release of the Dark Energy Survey, DES DR1, consisting of reduced single-epoch images, co-added images, co-added source catalogs, and associated products and services assembled over the first 3 yr of DES science operations. DES DR1 is based on optical/near-infrared imaging from 345 distinct nights (2013 August to 2016 February) by the Dark Energy Camera mounted on the 4 m Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory in Chile. We release data from the DES wide-area survey covering similar to 5000 deg(2) of the southern Galactic cap in five broad photometric bands, grizY. DES DR1 has a median delivered point-spread function of g = 1.12, r = 0.96, i = 0.88, z = 0.84, and Y = 0.'' 90 FWHM, a photometric precision of <1% in all bands, and an astrometric precision of 151 mas. The median co-added catalog depth for a 1.'' 95 diameter aperture at signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) = 10 is g = 24.33, r = 24.08, i = 23.44, z = 22.69, and Y = 21.44 mag. DES DR1 includes nearly 400 million distinct astronomical objects detected in similar to 10,000 co-add tiles of size 0.534 deg(2) produced from similar to 39,000 individual exposures. Benchmark galaxy and stellar samples contain similar to 310 million and similar to 80 million objects, respectively, following a basic object quality selection. These data are accessible through a range of interfaces, including query web clients, image cutout servers, jupyter notebooks, and an interactive co-add image visualization tool. DES DR1 constitutes the largest photometric data set to date at the achieved depth and photometric precision.
506 citations
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Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam1, Humboldt University of Berlin2, New Mexico State University3, Sternberg Astronomical Institute4, New York University5, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne6, University of Utah7, Université Paris-Saclay8, Max Planck Society9, National Autonomous University of Mexico10, Chinese Academy of Sciences11, Harvard University12, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University13, University of California, Berkeley14, Carnegie Mellon University15, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory16, Russian Academy of Sciences17, University of La Laguna18, Spanish National Research Council19, Aix-Marseille University20, Ohio State University21, University of Pittsburgh22, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris23, Autonomous University of Madrid24, Sejong University25, University of Portsmouth26, Pennsylvania State University27, Ohio University28, Brookhaven National Laboratory29, Tsinghua University30, Yale University31
TL;DR: In this paper, the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) scale in redshift-space using clustering of quasars was measured using a sample of 147, 000 quaars from the extended Ballyon Oscillations Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) distributed over 2044 square degrees with redshifts 0.8 0 at 6.6s significance.
Abstract: We present measurements of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) scale in redshift-space using the clustering of quasars. We consider a sample of 147 000 quasars from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) distributed over 2044 square degrees with redshifts 0.8 0 at 6.6s significance when testing a ΛCDM model with free curvature.
389 citations
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TL;DR: This short-review focuses on the use of liposomes in anti-cancer drug delivery and how encapsulation of anti- cancer drugs within the liposomal system offers secure platforms for the targeted delivery ofAnti-cancer drugs for the treatment of cancer.
Abstract: Cancer is a life-threatening disease contributing to ~3.4 million deaths worldwide. There are various causes of cancer, such as smoking, being overweight or obese, intake of processed meat, radiation, family history, stress, environmental factors, and chance. The first-line treatment of cancer is the surgical removal of solid tumours, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The systemic administration of the free drug is considered to be the main clinical failure of chemotherapy in cancer treatment, as limited drug concentration reaches the tumour site. Most of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in chemotherapy are highly cytotoxic to both cancer and normal cells. Accordingly, targeting the tumour vasculatures is essential for tumour treatment. In this context, encapsulation of anti-cancer drugs within the liposomal system offers secure platforms for the targeted delivery of anti-cancer drugs for the treatment of cancer. This, in turn, can be helpful for reducing the cytotoxic side effects of anti-cancer drugs on normal cells. This short-review focuses on the use of liposomes in anti-cancer drug delivery.
317 citations
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TL;DR: Low Registered Nurse staffing is associated with reports of missed nursing care in hospitals and missed care is a promising indicator of nurse staffing adequacy.
Abstract: Aims
To identify nursing care most frequently missed in acute adult inpatient wards and determine evidence for the association of missed care with nurse staffing
Background
Research has established associations between nurse staffing levels and adverse patient outcomes including in-hospital mortality However, the causal nature of this relationship is uncertain and omissions of nursing care (referred as missed care, care left undone or rationed care) have been proposed as a factor which may provide a more direct indicator of nurse staffing adequacy
Design
Systematic review
Data Sources
We searched the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase and Medline (2006-2016) for quantitative studies of associations between staffing and missed care We searched key journals, personal libraries and reference lists of articles
Review Methods
Two reviewers independently selected studies Quality appraisal was based on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality appraisal checklist for studies reporting correlations and associations Data were abstracted on study design, missed care prevalence and measures of association Synthesis was narrative
Results
Eighteen studies gave subjective reports of missed care 75% or more nurses reported omitting some care Fourteen studies found low nurse staffing levels were significantly associated with higher reports of missed care There was little evidence that adding support workers to the team reduced missed care
Conclusions
Low Registered Nurse staffing is associated with reports of missed nursing care in hospitals Missed care is a promising indicator of nurse staffing adequacy The extent to which the relationships observed represent actual failures is yet to be investigated
This article is protected by copyright All rights reserved
300 citations
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TL;DR: The review shows the modest evidence base of studies exploring missed care and patient outcomes generated mostly from nurse and patient self‐reported data supports the assertion that nurse staffing levels and skill mix are associated with adverse outcomes as a result of missed care.
Abstract: Aims and objectives
Systematic review of the impact of missed nursing care on outcomes in adults, on acute hospital wards and in nursing homes.
Background
A considerable body of evidence supports the hypothesis that lower levels of registered nurses on duty increase the likelihood of patients dying on hospital wards, and the risk of many aspects of care being either delayed or left undone (missed). However, the direct consequence of missed care remains unclear.
Design
Systematic review.
Methods
We searched Medline (via Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost) and Scopus for studies examining the association of missed nursing care and at least one patient outcome. Studies regarding registered nurses, healthcare assistants/support workers/nurses’ aides were retained. Only adult settings were included. Because of the nature of the review, qualitative studies, editorials, letters and commentaries were excluded. PRISMA guidelines were followed in reporting the review.
Results
Fourteen studies reported associations between missed care and patient outcomes. Some studies were secondary analyses of a large parent study. Most of the studies used nurse or patient reports to capture outcomes, with some using administrative data. Four studies found significantly decreased patient satisfaction associated with missed care. Seven studies reported associations with one or more patient outcomes including medication errors, urinary tract infections, patient falls, pressure ulcers, critical incidents, quality of care and patient readmissions. Three studies investigated whether there was a link between missed care and mortality and from these results no clear associations emerged.
Conclusions
The review shows the modest evidence base of studies exploring missed care and patient outcomes generated mostly from nurse and patient self-reported data. To support the assertion that nurse staffing levels and skill mix are associated with adverse outcomes as a result of missed care, more research that uses objective staffing and outcome measures is required.
Relevance to clinical practice
Although nurses may exercise judgements in rationing care in the face of pressure, there are nonetheless adverse consequences for patients (ranging from poor experience of care to increased risk of infection, readmissions and complications due to critical incidents from undetected physiological deterioration). Hospitals should pay attention to nurses’ reports of missed care and consider routine monitoring as a quality and safety indicator.
240 citations
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TL;DR: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time to enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblage using a broad range of metrics.
Abstract: Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record.Spatial location and grain: BioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km(2) (158 cm(2)) to 100 km(2) (1,000,000,000,000 cm(2)).Time period and grainBio: TIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year.Major taxa and level of measurement: BioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.
231 citations
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University of Edinburgh1, Brookhaven National Laboratory2, University of Manchester3, Ohio State University4, University of Pennsylvania5, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory6, IFAE7, University of Chicago8, Fermilab9, National Center for Supercomputing Applications10, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich11, California Institute of Technology12, University College London13, ETH Zurich14, Complutense University of Madrid15, University of Cambridge16, Max Planck Society17, Rhodes University18, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris19, Spanish National Research Council20, Stanford University21, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad22, University of Michigan23, Autonomous University of Madrid24, University of Washington25, Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics26, Australian Astronomical Observatory27, Argonne National Laboratory28, University of São Paulo29, Princeton University30, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies31, University of Portsmouth32, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory33, University of Sussex34, University of Southampton35, State University of Campinas36, Oak Ridge National Laboratory37
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present two galaxy shape catalogues from the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 data set, covering 1500 deg2 with a median redshift of 0.59.
Abstract: We present two galaxy shape catalogues from the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 data set, covering 1500 deg2 with a median redshift of 0.59. The catalogues cover two main fields: Stripe 82, and an area overlapping the South Pole Telescope survey region. We describe our data analysis process and in particular our shape measurement using two independent shear measurement pipelines, METACALIBRATION and IM3SHAPE. The METACALIBRATION catalogue uses a Gaussian model with an innovative internal calibration scheme, and was applied to riz bands, yielding 34.8M objects. The IM3SHAPE catalogue uses amaximum-likelihood bulge/disc model calibrated using simulations, and was applied to r-band data, yielding 21.9M objects. Both catalogues pass a suite of null tests that demonstrate their fitness for use in weak lensing science. We estimate the 1σ uncertainties in multiplicative shear calibration to be 0.013 and 0.025 for the METACALIBRATION and IM3SHAPE catalogues, respectively.
176 citations
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University of Paris1, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University2, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory3, Université Paris-Saclay4, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam5, Stanford University6, University of Portsmouth7, Ohio State University8, University of St Andrews9, Chinese Academy of Sciences10, University of Utah11, Max Planck Society12, Aix-Marseille University13, Humboldt University of Berlin14, University of Wyoming15, Argonne National Laboratory16, Sejong University17, Pennsylvania State University18, New York University19, Tsinghua University20
TL;DR: Gil-Marin et al. as discussed by the authors measured the redshift space distortions using the power-spectrum monopole, quadrupole, and hexadecapole inferred from 148 659 quasars between redshifts 0.8 and 2.2, covering a total sky footprint of 2112.9 deg2.
Abstract: Author(s): Gil-Marin, H; Guy, J; Zarrouk, P; Burtin, E; Chuang, CH; Percival, WJ; Ross, AJ; Ruggeri, R; Tojerio, R; Zhao, GB; Wang, Y; Bautista, J; Hou, J; Sanchez, AG; Pâris, I; Baumgarten, F; Brownstein, JR; Dawson, KS; Eftekharzadeh, S; Gonzalez-Perez, V; Habib, S; Heitmann, K; Myers, AD; Rossi, G; Schneider, DP; Seo, HJ; Tinker, JL; Zhao, C | Abstract: We analyse the clustering of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Data Release 14 quasar sample (DR14Q).We measure the redshift space distortions using the power-spectrum monopole, quadrupole, and hexadecapole inferred from 148 659 quasars between redshifts 0.8 and 2.2, covering a total sky footprint of 2112.9 deg2. We constrain the logarithmic growth of structure times the amplitude of dark matter density fluctuations, fσ8, and the Alcock-Paczynski dilation scales that allow constraints to be placed on the angular diameter distance DA(z) and the Hubble H(z) parameter. At the effective redshift of zeff = 1.52, fσ8(zeff) = 0.420 ± 0.076, H(zeff) = [162 ± 12] (r sfid/rs) kms-1 Mpc-1, and DA(zeff) = [1.85 ± 0.11] × 103 (rs/r sfid) Mpc, where rs is the comoving sound horizon at the baryon drag epoch and the superscript 'fid' stands for its fiducial value. The errors take into account the full error budget, including systematics and statistical contributions. These results are in full agreement with the current Λ-Cold Dark Matter cosmological model inferred from Planck measurements. Finally, we compare our measurements with other eBOSS companion papers and find excellent agreement, demonstrating the consistency and complementarity of the different methods used for analysing the data.
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Queen Mary University of London1, University of Portsmouth2, Manchester Metropolitan University3, University of Iceland4, University of St Andrews5, University of Sheffield6, University of Manchester7, Durham University8, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań9, Humboldt University of Berlin10, Charles University in Prague11, University of Salzburg12, Sheffield Hallam University13, Stockholm University14
TL;DR: A review and assessment of the various glacial geomorphological methods and datasets currently available, with a focus on their applicability in particular glacial settings is provided in this article.
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TL;DR: The Theory of Change is linked to the SSC concept and a theoretical logic model for the transformation towards SSCs is introduced, used to propose a coherent, systematic transformation roadmap that captures the cross-cutting readiness of a city along its infrastructures.
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TL;DR: It is found that, although the usefulness of different multi-criteria decision-making tools varied to some extent, all the tools were found to be useful in the sense that, when they decided to change their ranking, they followed the recommendation of the multi- Criteria Decision-making tool.
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University of Utah1, University of Portsmouth2, National Autonomous University of Mexico3, New Mexico State University4, Max Planck Society5, University of Paris6, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University7, University of Pittsburgh8, California Institute of Technology9, Ohio State University10, Pennsylvania State University11, Ohio University12, New York University13, University of St Andrews14, Chinese Academy of Sciences15
TL;DR: The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) Data Release 14 sample includes 80,118 luminous red galaxies (LRGs) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) Data Release 14 sample includes 80,118 luminous red galaxies (LRGs). By combining these galaxies with the high-redshift tail of the BOSS galaxy sample, we form a sample of LRGs at an effective redshift z = 0.72, covering an effective volume of 0.9 Gpc^3. We account for spurious fluctuations caused by targeting and by redshift failures, which were validated on a set of mock catalogs. This analysis is sufficient to provide a 2.5% measurement of spherically averaged baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO), D_v(z = 0.72) = 2377^(+61)_(-59)(r_d/r_(d,fid)) Mpc, at 2.8σ of significance. Together with the recent quasar-based BAO measurement at z = 1.5 and forthcoming emission line galaxy–based measurements, this measurement demonstrates that eBOSS is fulfilling its remit of extending the range of redshifts covered by such measurements, laying the groundwork for forthcoming surveys such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Survey and Euclid.
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TL;DR: This review will focus on the use of two manufacturing techniques, namely electrospinning and 3D printing, that present promise in the fabrication of complex composite gels for cartilage and bone tissue engineering applications.
Abstract: Injuries of bone and cartilage constitute important health issues costing the National Health Service billions of pounds annually, in the UK only. Moreover, these damages can become cause of disability and loss of function for the patients with associated social costs and diminished quality of life. The biomechanical properties of these two tissues are massively different from each other and they are not uniform within the same tissue due to the specific anatomic location and function. In this perspective, tissue engineering (TE) has emerged as a promising approach to address the complexities associated with bone and cartilage regeneration. Tissue engineering aims at developing temporary three-dimensional multicomponent constructs to promote the natural healing process. Biomaterials, such as hydrogels, are currently extensively studied for their ability to reproduce both the ideal 3D extracellular environment for tissue growth and to have adequate mechanical properties for load bearing. This review will focus on the use of two manufacturing techniques, namely electrospinning and 3D printing, that present promise in the fabrication of complex composite gels for cartilage and bone tissue engineering applications.
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TL;DR: It is found that long reviews are not perceived as helpful, while relevant and current reviews as well as overall ranking scores are perceived as diagnostic information in both samples.
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University of Southampton1, University of Queensland2, University of California, Santa Cruz3, Swinburne University of Technology4, University of Pennsylvania5, University of Chicago6, Australian Astronomical Observatory7, University of Sydney8, Australian National University9, University of Portsmouth10, Chinese Academy of Sciences11, University College London12, Rhodes University13, Fermilab14, Stanford University15, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory16, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign17, National Center for Supercomputing Applications18, IFAE19, Spanish National Research Council20, California Institute of Technology21, Steward Health Care System22, Autonomous University of Madrid23, ETH Zurich24, Ohio State University25, Harvard University26, University of São Paulo27, Brandeis University28, State University of Campinas29, Oak Ridge National Laboratory30, University of Michigan31
TL;DR: In this article, the results of a search for rapidly evolving transients in the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Programme were presented, including 72 events, including 37 transients with a spectroscopic redshift from host galaxy spectral features.
Abstract: We present the results of a search for rapidly evolving transients in the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Programme. These events are characterized by fast light-curve evolution (rise to peak in≲10 d and exponential decline in≲30 d after peak).We discovered 72 events, including 37 transients with a spectroscopic redshift from host galaxy spectral features. The 37 events increase the total number of rapid optical transients by more than a factor of two. They are found at a wide range of redshifts (0.05 M > -22.25). The multiband photometry is well fit by a blackbody up to few weeks after peak. The events appear to be hot (T ≈ 10 000-30 000 K) and large (R ≈ 10 - 2 × 10 cm) at peak, and generally expand and cool in time, though some events show evidence for a receding photosphere with roughly constant temperature. Spectra taken around peak are dominated by a blue featureless continuum consistent with hot, optically thick ejecta. We compare our events with a previously suggested physical scenario involving shock breakout in an optically thick wind surrounding a core-collapse supernova, we conclude that current models for such a scenario might need an additional power source to describe the exponential decline. We find that these transients tend to favour star-forming host galaxies, which could be consistent with a core-collapse origin. However, more detailed modelling of the light curves is necessary to determine their physical origin.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated water-based carbon nanotubes nonlinear stretched flow embedded in Darcy-Forchheimer porous medium and investigated the impact of thermophysical parameters on entropy generation, velocity and temperature.
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01 Jan 2018TL;DR: It is shown that the various components of the different platforms can be mapped to an abstract reference architecture, and the effectiveness of this mapping is analyzed.
Abstract: The IoT is gaining increasing attention. The overall aim is to interconnect the physical with the digital world. Therefore, the physical world is measured by sensors and translated into processible data, and data has to be translated into commands to be executed by actuators. Due to the growing interest in IoT, the number of platforms designed to support IoT has risen considerably. As a result of different approaches, standards, and use cases, there is a wide variety and heterogeneity of IoT platforms. This leads to difficulties in comprehending, selecting, and using appropriate platforms. In this work, we tackle these issues by conducting a detailed analysis of several state-of-the-art IoT platforms in order to foster the understanding of the (i) underlying concepts, (ii) similarities, and (iii) differences between them. We show that the various components of the different platforms can be mapped to an abstract reference architecture, and analyze the effectiveness of this mapping.
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TL;DR: The null result constrains the coalescence rate of monochromatic (delta function) distributions of nonspinning in primordial black hole binary formation scenario and strengthens the presently placed bounds from microlensing surveys of massive compact halo objects (MACHOs) provided by the MACHO and EROS Collaborations.
Abstract: We present a search for subsolar mass ultracompact objects in data obtained during Advanced LIGO’s second observing run. In contrast to a previous search of Advanced LIGO data from the first observing run, this search includes the effects of component spin on the gravitational waveform. We identify no viable gravitational-wave candidates consistent with subsolar mass ultracompact binaries with at least one component between 0.2 M⊙–1.0 M⊙. We use the null result to constrain the binary merger rate of (0.2 M⊙, 0.2 M⊙) binaries to be less than 3.7×105 Gpc-3 yr-1 and the binary merger rate of (1.0 M⊙, 1.0 M⊙) binaries to be less than 5.2×103 Gpc-3 yr-1. Subsolar mass ultracompact objects are not expected to form via known stellar evolution channels, though it has been suggested that primordial density fluctuations or particle dark matter with cooling mechanisms and/or nuclear interactions could form black holes with subsolar masses. Assuming a particular primordial black hole (PBH) formation model, we constrain a population of merging 0.2 M⊙ black holes to account for less than 16% of the dark matter density and a population of merging 1.0 M⊙ black holes to account for less than 2% of the dark matter density. We discuss how constraints on the merger rate and dark matter fraction may be extended to arbitrary black hole population models that predict subsolar mass binaries.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a supplier sustainability performance evaluation framework for evaluating and selecting suppliers based on their sustainability performance, which uses fuzzy-Shannon entropy to determine the sustainability criteria weights and fuzzy-Inference system to prioritize suppliers from the individual sustainability dimensions perspective.
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Liverpool John Moores University1, University of Liverpool2, Bournemouth University3, University of Cape Town4, Bureau of Land Management5, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich6, National University of Río Negro7, Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne8, Perot Museum of Nature and Science9, Brown University10, Collin College11, Chatham University12, Eastern Connecticut State University13, University of Bonn14, Emory University15, American Museum of Natural History16, University of Basel17, University of Portsmouth18, University of Queensland19, Kyoto University20, China University of Geosciences (Beijing)21
TL;DR: The aim is to make the 3D capture of ichnological data standard practice, and to provide guidance on how such 3D data can be communicated effectively and archived openly and in perpetuity.
Abstract: The collection and dissemination of vertebrate ichnological data is struggling to keep up with techniques that are becoming commonplace in the wider palaeontological field. A standard protocol is required to ensure that data is recorded, presented and archived in a manner that will be useful both to contemporary researchers, and to future generations. Primarily, our aim is to make the 3D capture of ichnological data standard practice, and to provide guidance on how such 3D data can be communicated effectively (both via the literature and other means) and archived openly and in perpetuity. We recommend capture of 3D data, and the presentation of said data in the form of photographs, false-colour images, and interpretive drawings. Raw data (3D models of traces) should always be provided in a form usable by other researchers (i.e. in an open format). If adopted by the field as a whole, the result will be a more robust and uniform literature, supplemented by unparalleled availability of datasets for future workers.
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TL;DR: The authors present the structures of GcoA and GcoB, a cytochrome P450-reductase pair that catalyzes aryl-O-demethylations and show that G coA displays broad substrate specificity, which is of interest for biotechnology applications.
Abstract: Microbial aromatic catabolism offers a promising approach to convert lignin, a vast source of renewable carbon, into useful products. Aryl-O-demethylation is an essential biochemical reaction to ultimately catabolize coniferyl and sinapyl lignin-derived aromatic compounds, and is often a key bottleneck for both native and engineered bioconversion pathways. Here, we report the comprehensive characterization of a promiscuous P450 aryl-O-demethylase, consisting of a cytochrome P450 protein from the family CYP255A (GcoA) and a three-domain reductase (GcoB) that together represent a new two-component P450 class. Though originally described as converting guaiacol to catechol, we show that this system efficiently demethylates both guaiacol and an unexpectedly wide variety of lignin-relevant monomers. Structural, biochemical, and computational studies of this novel two-component system elucidate the mechanism of its broad substrate specificity, presenting it as a new tool for a critical step in biological lignin conversion.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a new completion method for incomplete pairwise comparison matrix (iPCM) is proposed, which provides a new perspective to estimate the missing values in iPCMs with explicit physical meaning, which is straightforward and flexible.
Abstract: Pairwise comparison matrix (PCM) as a crucial component of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) presents the preference relations among alternatives. However, in many cases, the PCM is difficult to be completed, which obstructs the subsequent operations of the classical AHP. In this paper, based on decision-making and trial evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method which has ability to derive the total relation matrix from direct relation matrix, a new completion method for incomplete pairwise comparison matrix (iPCM) is proposed. The proposed method provides a new perspective to estimate the missing values in iPCMs with explicit physical meaning, which is straightforward and flexible. Several experiments are implemented as well to present the completion ability of the proposed method and some insights into the proposed method and matrix consistency.
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TL;DR: This study is the first to identify microplastic contamination in spider crab and to document trophic transfer in the wild, and no significant link was observed between fishing effort and microplastics abundance; however, proximity to land was linked to increased abundance in M. squinado.
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TL;DR: A machine learning based method to automatically rate the PD severity from gait information, in particular, the sequential data of Vertical Ground Reaction Force recorded by foot sensors is proposed, which outperforms existing ones in terms of prediction accuracy of PD severity levels.
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TL;DR: This review surveys selected articles that highlight this diverse range of biomedical applications offered by PU materials and coatings.
Abstract: Polyurethanes (PUs), formed by the reaction of diisocyanates with polyols (or equivalent) in the presence of a catalyst, have a wide variety of industrial uses. Much recent attention has focused on...
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider several decisions when it comes to the planning and execution of qualitative studies, regardless of the topic area, and propose a method to synthesize qualitative studies for health and social care.
Abstract: Systematic synthesis of qualitative studies is widely used in health and social care. Regardless of the topic area, researchers need to consider several decisions when it comes to the planning and ...
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University of Manchester1, University of Toulouse2, Hoffmann-La Roche3, International School for Advanced Studies4, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham5, University of Paris6, University of Oslo7, Spanish National Research Council8, Centre national de la recherche scientifique9, Leiden University10, University of the Basque Country11, Cardiff University12, University of Cambridge13, INAF14, University of Bologna15, University of Padua16, University of Milan17, Tufts University18, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory19, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris20, University of Paris-Sud21, RWTH Aachen University22, University of Ferrara23, University of Rome Tor Vergata24, Sapienza University of Rome25, University of Science and Technology of China26, University of Grenoble27, University of Lisbon28, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory29, University of California, Berkeley30, University of La Laguna31, Stockholm University32, University of Oviedo33, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich34, University of Helsinki35, University College London36, University of Geneva37, University of Sussex38, University of Porto39, Maynooth University40, University of Barcelona41, University of Savoy42, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro43, Delft University of Technology44, Netherlands Institute for Space Research45, Université Paris-Saclay46, University of Portsmouth47, University of Minnesota48, Jagiellonian University49
TL;DR: In this article, the CORE satellite mission was designed to detect the primordial cosmic microwave background (CMB) B-mode polarization with the desired accuracy at both reionization and recombination scales, for tensor-to-scalar ratio values of r.5×-10−3.
Abstract: We demonstrate that, for the baseline design of the CORE satellite mission, the polarized foregrounds can be controlled at the level required to allow the detection of the primordial cosmic microwave background (CMB) B-mode polarization with the desired accuracy at both reionization and recombination scales, for tensor-to-scalar ratio values of r 5× 10−3. We consider detailed sky simulations based on state-of-the-art CMB observations that consist of CMB polarization with τ=0.055 and tensor-to-scalar values ranging from r=10−2 to 10−3, Galactic synchrotron, and thermal dust polarization with variable spectral indices over the sky, polarized anomalous microwave emission, polarized infrared and radio sources, and gravitational lensing effects. Using both parametric and blind approaches, we perform full component separation and likelihood analysis of the simulations, allowing us to quantify both uncertainties and biases on the reconstructed primordial B-modes. Under the assumption of perfect control of lensing effects, CORE would measure an unbiased estimate of r=(5 ± 0.4)× 10−3 after foreground cleaning. In the presence of both gravitational lensing effects and astrophysical foregrounds, the significance of the detection is lowered, with CORE achieving a 4σ-measurement of r=5× 10−3 after foreground cleaning and 60% delensing. For lower tensor-to-scalar ratios (r=10−3) the overall uncertainty on r is dominated by foreground residuals, not by the 40% residual of lensing cosmic variance. Moreover, the residual contribution of unprocessed polarized point-sources can be the dominant foreground contamination to primordial B-modes at this r level, even on relatively large angular scales, e ~ 50. Finally, we report two sources of potential bias for the detection of the primordial B-modes by future CMB experiments: (i) the use of incorrect foreground models, e.g. a modelling error of Δβs = 0.02 on the synchrotron spectral indices may result in an excess in the recovered reionization peak corresponding to an effective Δ r > 10−3; (ii) the average of the foreground line-of-sight spectral indices by the combined effects of pixelization and beam convolution, which adds an effective curvature to the foreground spectral energy distribution and may cause spectral degeneracies with the CMB in the frequency range probed by the experiment.