<i>TESS</i> Spots a Compact System of Super-Earths around the Naked-eye Star HR 858

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observations have revealed a compact multiplanet system around the sixth-magnitude star HR 858 (TIC 178155732, TOI 396), located 32 pc away. Three planets, each about twice the size of Earth, transit this slightly evolved, late F-type star, which is also a member of a visual binary. Two of the planets may be in mean motion resonance. We analyze the TESS observations, using novel methods to model and remove instrumental systematic errors, and combine these data with follow-up observations taken from a suite of ground-based telescopes to characterize the planetary system. The HR 858 planets are enticing targets for precise radial velocity observations, secondary eclipse spectroscopy, and measurements of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect

How Politicians Discount the Opinions of Constituents with Whom They Disagree

Abstract We argue that politicians systematically discount the opinions of constituents with whom they disagree and that this &quot;disagreement discounting&quot; is a contributing factor to ideological incongruence. A pair of survey experiments where state and local politicians are the subjects of interest show that public officials rationalize this behavior by assuming that constituents with opposing views are less informed about the issue. This finding applies both to well-established issues that divide the parties as well as to nonpartisan ones. Further, it cannot be explained by politicians&apos; desires to favor the opinions of either co-partisans or likely voters. A third survey experiment using a sample of voters shows that the bias is exacerbated by an activity central to representative governancetaking and explaining one&apos;s policy positions. This suggests that the job of being a representative exacerbates this bias

Replication Data for: Ideology, Learning, and Policy Diffusion: Experimental Evidence

We introduce experimental research design to the study of policy diffusion in order to better understand how political ideology affects policymakers’ willingness to learn from one another’s experiences. Our two experiments, embedded in national surveys of U.S. municipal officials, expose local policymakers to vignettes describing the zoning and home foreclosure policies of other cities, offering opportunities to learn more. We find that: (1) policymakers who are ideologically predisposed against the described policy are relatively unwilling to learn from others, but (2) such ideological biases can be overcome with an emphasis on the policy’s success or on its adoption by co-partisans in other communities. We also find a similar partisan-based bias among traditional ideological supporters, who are less willing to learn from those in the opposing party. The experimental approach offered here provides numerous new opportunities for scholars of policy diffusion

Data from: Fire-derived organic matter retains ammonia through covalent bond formation

Fire-derived organic matter is present in the Earth’s soil, sediment, atmosphere, and water. We investigated interactions of pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) with ammonia (NH3) gas, which makes up much of the Earth’s reactive nitrogen (N) pool. Here we show that PyOM’s NH3 retention capacity under ambient conditions can exceed 180 mg N g-1 PyOM carbon, resulting in a material with a higher N content than any unprocessed plant material and most animal manures. As PyOM is weathered, NH3 retention increases 4-fold, with more than half of the N retained through chemisorption rather than physisorption. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveal that a variety of covalent bonds form between NH3-N and PyOM, more than 10% of which may be contained in heterocyclic structures. We estimate that through these mechanisms soil PyOM stocks could retain more than 600-fold annual NH3 emissions from agriculture, and conclude that PyOM could exert an important and unaccounted-for control on global N cycling. This dataset supports the findings of this study.This work was supported in part by Cornell University's David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, the Towards Sustainability Foundation, the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future Impact through Innovation Fund, NSF BREAD Program (IOS-0965336) and the McKnight Foundation. Some of the research described in this paper was performed at the Canadian Light Source Inc., which is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the National Research Council Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Province of Saskatchewan, Western Economic Diversification Canada, and the University of Saskatchewan. This work also made use of the Cornell Center for Materials Research Shared Facilities which are supported through the NSF MRSEC program (DMR-1120296). The Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre at the University of New South Wales is acknowledged for access to solid state NMR spectrometers funded through Australian Research Council LIEF LE0989541. R.H. acknowledges support from the NSF IGERT Program (DGE-0903371 and DGE-1069193) and the NSF GRFP (DGE-1144153). Special thanks to Akio Enders, Kelly Hanley, and Cornell University Stable Isotope Laboratory staff for their help with sample analysis

Fate and Uptake of Pharmaceuticals in Soil–Earthworm Systems

Pharmaceuticals present a potential threat to soil organisms, yet our understanding of their fate and uptake in soil systems is limited. This study therefore investigated the fate and uptake of 14C-labeled carbamazepine, diclofenac, fluoxetine, and orlistat in soil–earthworm systems. Sorption coefficients increased in the order of carbamazepine < diclofenac < fluoxetine < orlistat. Dissipation of 14C varied by compound, and for orlistat, there was evidence of formation of nonextractable residues. Uptake of 14C was seen for all compounds. Depuration studies showed complete elimination of 14C for carbamazepine and fluoxetine treatments and partial elimination for orlistat and diclofenac, with greater than 30% of the 14C remaining in the tissue at the end of the experiment. Pore-water-based bioconcentration factors (BCFs), based on uptake and elimination of 14C, increased in the order carbamazepine < diclofenac < fluoxetine and orlistat. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography–Fourier transform mass spectrometry indicated that the observed uptake in the fluoxetine and carbamazepine treatments was due to the parent compounds but that diclofenac was degraded in the test system so uptake was due to unidentifiable transformation products. Comparison of our data with outputs of quantitative structure−activity relationships for estimating BCFs in worms showed that these models tend to overestimate pharmaceutical BCFs so new models are needed