New deep multichannel seismic reflection images from the Alboran Basin: The TOPOMED-GASSIS dataset

European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2015 (EGU2015), 12-17 April 2015, Vienna, Austria.-- 1 pageThe Alboran Basin (Western Mediterranean) is located between the Iberian Peninsula and Africa. Along this basin runs the diffuse plate boundary between Iberia and Africa. In order to improve the knowledge of the lithospheric structure in this region, the TOPOMED-GASSIS cruise took place during October 2011 on board the RV Sarmiento de Gamboa. During this cruise, the new deep multichannel seismic acquisition system was used for the first time. The equipment used were two high volume G-gun arrays (2000 psi / 2500 psi) and up to 6 km long Sercel multichannel digital streamer (408 / 480 active channels) towed behind the vessel. The results correspond to a series of multichannel seismic profiles with unprecedented quality, which allows us to apply state of the art processing and imaging techniques to obtain the deep tectonic structure of the plate boundary while keeping a good resolution in the sedimentary infill of the basin. A complete processing sequence has been used in order to increase the signal to noise ratio, including deconvolution, multiple attenuation and time migration. A high-quality deep penetration dataset has been acquired using the new instrumentation allowing to image the whole basin at a crustal scale. The results are high-quality sections for interpretation through frequency preservation, effective multiple attenuation and velocity analysis. Moreover, we will carry out Pre-Stack Depth Migration algorithms to selected profiles, in order to obtain the real geometry of the structures at depthPeer Reviewe

Back to the future of soil metagenomics

JN was funded by a fellowship from the French MENESR.Peer reviewedPeer Reviewe

Beliefs, barriers and preferences of European overweight women to adopt a healthier lifestyle in pregnancy to minimize risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus: an explorative study

Introduction: Overweight and obese women are at high risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Lifestyle programs might help curb the GDM risk. We explored beliefs, perceived barriers and preferences regarding lifestyle changes among overweight European pregnant women to help inform the development of future high quality lifestyle interventions. Methods: An explorative mixed methods, two-staged study was conducted to gather information from pregnant European women (BMI≥25kg/m2). In three European countries (Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom) interviews were conducted, followed by questionnaires in six other European countries (Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain). Content analysis, descriptive and chi square statistics were applied (p<0.05). Results: Women preferred to obtain detailed information about their personal risk. The health of their baby was major motivating factor. Perceived barriers for physical activity included pregnancy-specific issues such as tiredness and experiencing physical complaints. Insufficient time was a barrier more frequently reported by women with children. Abstaining from snacking was identified as a challenge for the majority of women, especially for those without children. Women preferred to obtain support from their partner, as well as health professionals and valued flexible lifestyle programs. Conclusions: Healthcare professionals need to inform overweight pregnant women about their personal risk, discuss lifestyle modification and assist in weight management. Lifestyle programs should be tailored to the individual, taking into account barriers experienced by overweight first-time mothers and multipara women

Using Interleukin 6 and 8 in Blood and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid to Predict Survival in Hematological Malignancy Patients With Suspected Pulmonary Mold Infection.

Background: Molds and other pathogens induce elevated levels of several cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8. The objective of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of IL-6 and IL-8 as well as fungal biomarkers in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) for overall survival in patients with underlying hematological malignancies and suspected mold infection. Methods: This cohort study included 106 prospectively enrolled adult cases undergoing bronchoscopy. Blood samples were collected within 24 h of BAL sampling and, in a subset of 62 patients, serial blood samples were collected up until 4 days after bronchoscopy. IL-6, IL-8, and other cytokines as well as galactomannan (GM) and β-D-glucan (BDG) were assayed in blood and BAL fluid and associations with overall mortality were assessed at the end of the study using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: Both blood IL-8 (AUC 0.731) and blood IL-6 (AUC 0.699) as well as BAL IL-6 (AUC 0.763) and BAL IL-8 (AUC 0.700) levels at the time of bronchoscopy were predictors of 30-day all-cause mortality. Increasing blood IL-6 levels between bronchoscopy and day four after bronchoscopy were significantly associated with higher 90-day mortality, with similar findings for increasing IL-8 levels. In ROC analysis the difference of blood IL-8 levels between 4 days after bronchoscopy and the day of bronchoscopy had an AUC of 0.829 (95%CI 0.71-0.95; p < 0.001) for predicting 90-day mortality. Conclusions: Elevated levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in blood or BAL fluid at the time of bronchoscopy, and rising levels in blood 4 days following bronchoscopy were predictive of mortality in these patients with underlying hematological malignancy who underwent bronchoscopy for suspected mold infection

Social Dimension of Intra-EU Mobility: Impact on Public Services

Freedom of movement of citizens constitutes one of the core values of the European Union and is closely linked to European citizenship. There is, however, a heated debate in many of the destination Member States about the impact of intra-EU mobility on their public services. The debate centres on the ‘welfare magnet hypothesis’, which holds that migrants, including mobile citizens from the central and eastern European Member States, are attracted by the better quality of these services and easier access to them in the host countries. The issue has become highly politicised recently, especially as a consequence of the economic crisis and the increased inflow of these EU mobile citizens. The main objective of this research project is to explore whether there is any evidence to support the welfare magnet hypothesis. It examines the take-up of benefits and social services by mobile citizens from 10 central and eastern European Member States (EU10 mobile citizens) in 9 host countries – Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK – compared to the native populations and other citizen groups. It also seeks to identify the obstacles to their integration in the host countries and initiatives to aid their integration

Asteroseismology of massive stars with the TESS mission: the runaway Beta Cep pulsator PHL 346 = HN Aqr

We report an analysis of the first known Beta Cep pulsator observed by the TESS mission, the runaway star PHL 346 = HN Aqr. The star, previously known as a singly-periodic pulsator, has at least 34 oscillation modes excited, 12 of those in the g-mode domain and 22 p modes. Analysis of archival data implies that the amplitude and frequency of the dominant mode and the stellar radial velocity were variable over time. A binary nature would be inconsistent with the inferred ejection velocity from the Galactic disc of 420 km/s, which is too large to be survivable by a runaway binary system. A kinematic analysis of the star results in an age constraint (23 +- 1 Myr) that can be imposed on asteroseismic modelling and that can be used to remove degeneracies in the modelling process. Our attempts to match the excitation of the observed frequency spectrum resulted in pulsation models that were too young. Hence, asteroseismic studies of runaway pulsators can become vital not only in tracing the evolutionary history of such objects, but to understand the interior structure of massive stars in general. TESS is now opening up these stars for detailed asteroseismic investigation.Comment: accepted for ApJ

Characterization of ISF-VAT performance in weak magnetic nozzle

Vacuum arc thruster performance in a magnetic nozzle configuration is experimentally characterized. Measurements are performed on a miniature coaxial thruster with an anode inner diameter of $1.8$ mm. The magnetic field B is produced by a single air coil, $18$ mm in diameter. Direct measurement of thrust, mass consumption and arc current are performed. To obtain statistically viable results $\approx 6000$ arc pulses are analyzed at each operational point. Cathode mass erosion is measured using laser profilometry. To sustain thruster operation over several measurement cycles, an active cathode feeding system is used. For $0< B \leq 0.2$ T performance increase over the non-magnetic case is observed with the best thrust to arc power ratio $T/P \approx 9$ $\mu$N/W obtained at $B \approx 0.2$ T. A parametric model is provided that captures the performance enhancement based on beam collimation and acceleration by the magnetic nozzle. For $B > 0.2$ T the arc discharge is shown to be suppressed nullifying any additional gains by the nozzle effect

Extended stellar systems in the solar neighborhood - I. The tidal tails of the Hyades

We report the discovery of two well-defined tidal tails emerging from the Hyades star cluster. The tails were detected in Gaia DR2 data by selecting cluster members in the three-dimensional galactocentric cylindrical velocity space. The robustness of our member selection is reinforced by the fact that the sources depict an almost noiseless, coeval stellar main sequence in the observational Hertzsprung-Russel diagram. The spatial arrangement of the selected members represents a highly flattened shape with respect to the direction of movement along the clusters' orbit in the Galaxy. The size of the entire structure, within the limits of the observations, measures about 200 pc in its largest extent, while being only about 25 pc thick. This translates to an on-sky extent of well beyond 100 deg. Intriguingly, a top-down view on the spatial distribution reveals as distinct S-shape, reminiscent of tidal tails both observed for globular clusters, as well as modelled for star clusters bound to the Galactic disk. Even more remarkable, the spatial arrangement, as well as the velocity dispersion of our source selection is in excellent agreement with previously published theoretical predictions for the tidal tails of the Hyades. An investigation into observed signatures of equipartition of kinetic energy, i.e. mass segregation, remains unsuccessful, most likely due to the sensitivity limit for radial velocity measurements with Gaia.Comment: accepted by A&A on 29 Nov 2018; A manuscript with similar content (arXiv:1811.03845) has been submitted to A&A only a few days earlier. The authors did not know about each other's wor