Characterization the Cool KOIs. II. The M Dwarf KOI-254 and its Hot Jupiter

We report the confirmation and characterization of a transiting gas giant planet orbiting the M dwarf KOI-254 every 2.455239 days, which was originally discovered by the Kepler mission. We use radial velocity measurements, adaptive optics imaging, and near-infrared spectroscopy to confirm the planetary nature of the transit events. KOI-254 b is the first hot Jupiter discovered around an M-type dwarf star. We also present a new model-independent method of using broadband photometry to estimate the mass and metallicity of an M dwarf without relying on a direct distance measurement. Included in this methodology is a new photometric metallicity calibration based on J – K colors. We use this technique to measure the physical properties of KOI-254 and its planet. We measure a planet mass of M_P = 0.505 M_(Jup), radius R_P = 0.96 R_(Jup), and semimajor axis a = 0.030 AU, based on our measured stellar mass M_* = 0.59 M_☉ and radius R_* = 0.55 R_☉. We also find that the host star is metal-rich, which is consistent with the sample of M-type stars known to harbor giant planets

LHS6343C: A Transiting Field Brown Dwarf Discovered by the Kepler Mission

We report the discovery of a brown dwarf that transits one member of the M+M binary system LHS6343AB every 12.71 days. The transits were discovered using photometric data from the Kelper public data release. The LHS6343 stellar system was previously identified as a single high-proper-motion M dwarf. We use high-contrast imaging to resolve the system into two low-mass stars with masses 0.45 Msun and 0.36 Msun, respectively, and a projected separation of 55 arcsec. High-resolution spectroscopy shows that the more massive component undergoes Doppler variations consistent with Keplerian motion, with a period equal to the transit period and an amplitude consistent with a companion mass of M_C = 62.8 +/- 2.3 Mjup. Based on an analysis of the Kepler light curve we estimate the radius of the companion to be R_C = 0.832 +/- 0.021 Rjup, which is consistent with theoretical predictions of the radius of a > 1 Gyr brown dwarf.Comment: Our previous analysis neglected the dependence of the scaled semimajor axis, a/R, on the transit depth. By not correcting a/R for the third-light contamination, we overestimated the mass of Star A, which led to an overestimate the mass and radius of the LHS6343

Interactive web-based pulmonary rehabilitation programme: a randomised controlled feasibility trial

Open access articleObjectives: The aim of this study was to determine if an interactive web-based pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programme is a feasible alternative to conventional PR. Design: Randomised controlled feasibility trial. Setting: Participants with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were recruited from PR assessments, primary care and community rehabilitation programmes. Patients randomised to conventional rehabilitation started the programme according to the standard care at their referred site on the next available date. Participants: 103 patients were recruited to the study and randomised: 52 to conventional rehabilitation (mean (±SD) age 66 (±8) years, Medical Research Council (MRC) 3 (IQR2–4)); 51 to the web arm (mean (±SD) age 66 (±10) years, MRC 3 (IQR2–4)). Participants had to be willing to participate in either arm of the trial, have internet access and be web literate. Interventions: Patients randomised to the web-based programme worked through the website, exercising and recording their progress as well as reading educational material. Conventional PR consisted of twice weekly, 2 hourly sessions (an hour for exercise training and an hour for education). Outcome measures: Recruitment rates, eligibility, patient preference and dropout and completion rates for both programmes were collected. Standard outcomes for a PR assessment including measures of exercise capacity and quality of life questionnaires were also evaluated. Results: A statistically significant improvement (p≤0.01) was observed within each group in the endurance shuttle walk test (WEB: mean change 189 ±211.1; PR classes: mean change 184.5±247.4 s) and Chronic Respiratory disease Questionnaire-Dyspnoea (CRQ-D; WEB: mean change 0.7±1.2; PR classes: mean change 0.8±1.0). However, there were no significant differences between the groups in any outcome.Dropout rates were higher in the web-based programme (57% vs 23%). Conclusions: An interactive web-based PR programme is feasible and acceptable when compared with conventional PR. Future trials maybe around choicebased PR programmes for select patients enabling stratification of patient care

Dynamics of direct inter-pack encounters in endangered African wild dogs

Aggressive encounters may have important life history consequences due to the potential for injury and death, disease transmission, dispersal opportunities or exclusion from key areas of the home range. Despite this, little is known of their detailed dynamics, mainly due to the difficulties of directly observing encounters in detail. Here, we describe detailed spatial dynamics of inter-pack encounters in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), using data from custom-built high-resolution GPS collars in 11 free-ranging packs. On average, each pack encountered another pack approximately every 7 weeks and met each neighbour twice each year. Surprisingly, intruders were more likely to win encounters (winning 78.6% of encounters by remaining closer to the site in the short term). However, intruders did tend to move farther than residents toward their own range core in the short-term (1 h) post-encounter, and if this were used to indicate losing an encounter, then the majority (73.3%) of encounters were won by residents. Surprisingly, relative pack size had little effect on encounter outcome, and injuries were rare (<15% of encounters). These results highlight the difficulty of remotely scoring encounters involving mobile participants away from static defendable food resources. Although inter-pack range overlap was reduced following an encounter, encounter outcome did not seem to drive this, as both packs shifted their ranges post-encounter. Our results indicate that inter-pack encounters may be lower risk than previously suggested and do not appear to influence long-term movement and ranging

Characterizing the Cool KOIs II. The M Dwarf KOI-254 and its Hot Jupiter

We report the confirmation and characterization of a transiting gas giant planet orbiting the M dwarf KOI-254 every 2.455239 days, which was originally discovered by the Kepler mission. We use radial velocity measurements, adaptive optics imaging and near infrared spectroscopy to confirm the planetary nature of the transit events. KOI-254b is the first hot Jupiter discovered around an M-type dwarf star. We also present a new model-independent method of using broadband photometry to estimate the mass and metallicity of an M dwarf without relying on a direct distance measurement. Included in this methodology is a new photometric metallicity calibration based on J-K colors. We use this technique to measure the physical properties of KOI-254 and its planet. We measure a planet mass of Mp = 0.505 Mjup, radius Rp = 0.96 Rjup and semimajor axis a = 0.03 AU, based on our measured stellar mass Mstar = 0.59 Msun and radius Rstar = 0.55 Rsun. We also find that the host star is metal-rich, which is consistent with the sample of M-type stars known to harbor giant planets.Comment: AJ accepted (in press

The Development of Linguistic Competences for Employability: A Training Project for Teachers

AbstractEmployability is a new concept that has just appeared in the Spanish educational system. Its rising importance is due to European Union educational policies which aim to provide young people with training that enables them to take part successfully in the present and future working world.This paper argues for the need to develop employability from the very start of formal education, and within this, we highlight the importance of developing linguistic competence among pre-school and primary pupils as a key element for favouring employability.To be able to do so, the teaching staff must be trained using quality education to enable them to work effectively on this competence. In this paper we present how a training program, with a specific European dimension, has been designed by a state school from the Valencian Community, to serve as a model for other schools concerned about the development of a linguistic competence that helps to improve both teachers’ and pupils’ employability

GCT-03. MonoGerm, a novel proof-of-principle Bayesian phase II trial design of carboplatin or vinblastine monotherapy induction prior to radiotherapy for intracranial germinoma [Abstract]

BACKGROUND Current European standard-of-care for localised intracranial germinoma is multi-agent chemotherapy (carboPEI: carboplatin/etoposide/ifosfamide) followed by definitive radiotherapy, with excellent survival. MonoGerm is a de-escalation, non-inferiority trial aiming to reduce toxicity. Twelve-week carboplatin (PMID:8039122) AUC10 or vinblastine (PMIDs:32642701/34520101) induction will be evaluated to test if as effective as carboPEI from SIOP-CNS-GCT-II. A novel trial design was required to answer this question pragmatically/safely. METHODS Clinical trials in rare diseases recruit slowly, allowing continuous monitoring of efficacy outcomes. Efficacy-transition-pathways (ETP) are innovative visual tools to aid determination of trial design parameters, and an extension of the dose-transition-pathways concept introduced for dose-finding trials (PMID:28733440). RESULTS MonoGerm includes two monotherapies, with each single arm recruiting six cohorts of three patients, with interim assessment after each recruited cohort and final analysis at 18 patients (total n=36). Insufficient tumour volume response (<30%) at 6-week safety MRI results in 12-weeks carboPEI. Primary outcome is radiological complete response (CR) by 12-weeks of induction monotherapy. A beta-binomial conjugate analysis will generate posterior probability distributions, combining observed trial data as realisations from a binomial distribution with a minimally informative Beta (1,1) prior. Decision criteria to allow early stopping at interim analyses and go/no-go decisions at final analysis are based on probabilities from these posterior distributions. ETP visually maps out parameters used to assert decisions after each interim assessment as a pyramid decision tree. For each recruited cohort and every CR outcome, estimates of the true CR rate and probabilities with associated decisions are mapped out. ETP allows clear communication between statisticians, clinicians, and patient-public-involvement (PPI) teams, facilitating informed decisions in an efficient/realistic trial design. CONCLUSION MonoGerm, a novel Bayesian de-escalation trial, funded by Little Princess Trust (https://www.littleprincesses.org.uk/), uses ETP and continuous monitoring with built-in stopping rules to ensure patient safety in this treatment de-escalation trial

Love and Taxes – And Matching Institutions

We study a setting with search frictions in the marriage market and with incomplete contracting inside the family. Everyone prefers a partner that has high income and is a perfect emotional match, but compromises must often be struck. A high income earner may abstain from marrying a low-income earner even though they would be a perfect match emotionally, because the highincome earner may dislike the implicit income redistribution implied by the marriage. Redistributive income taxation may ease this problem. Income matching institutions that secure that people largely from the same income groups meet each other can substitute for redistribution, so that optimal redistribution is reduced. We also introduce a divorce option. Redistributive taxation is shown both to further and stabilize marriage.Wenn Menschen mit unterschiedlichem Einkommen heiraten, führt dies zu einer Umverteilung innerhalb der Ehe von der wirtschaftlich stärkeren zur wirtschaftlich schwächeren Person. Zwei Personen, die zufällig aufeinander treffen und aufgrund ähnlicher Interessen und Neigungen gut zueinander passen, werden auch die finanziellen Folgen einer Heirat berücksichtigen. Falls die Person mit hohem Einkommen diese Umverteilung als zu stark empfindet, kommt die Ehe nicht zustande. Die Rente, die z.B. dadurch entsteht, dass das Paar ähnliche Interessen hat oder gemeinsamen Hobbys nachgehen kann, geht in diesem Fall verloren. Progressive Besteuerung führt zu einer Angleichung der Einkommensverteilung und verringert daher die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass Ehen aufgrund hoher Einkommensunterschiede nicht zustande kommen. Aus wohlfahrtstheoretischer Sicht ist dies ein positiver Aspekt umverteilender Besteuerung, der bisher in der Literatur nicht berücksichtigt wurde. Die optimale Höhe der Besteuerung hängt von den Matching-Institutionen ab, d.h. davon wer wen auf dem Heiratsmarkt trifft. Treffen vorwiegend Personen mit unterschiedlichem Einkommen und ähnlichen Interessen aufeinander, ist der positive Effekt der Besteuerung besonders wirksam. In diesem Fall ist der optimale Steuersatz umso höher, je ähnlicher die Interessen der potentiellen Partner ist. Umgekehrt kann progressive Besteuerung in einer Gesellschaft, in der vorwiegend Personen mit ohnehin ähnlichem Einkommen aufeinandertreffen, kaum etwas bewirken. Daher fällt in diesem Fall der optimale Steuersatz umso geringer aus, je ähnlicher die Einkommen der potentiellen Paare auf dem Heiratsmarkt sind

Electrophysiological Characterization of The Cerebellum in the Arterially Perfused Hindbrain and Upper Body of The Rat

In the present study, a non-pulsatile arterially perfused hindbrain and upper body rat preparation is described which is an extension of the brainstem preparation reported by Potts et al., (Brain Res Bull 53(1):59–67), 1. The modified in situ preparation allows study of cerebellar function whilst preserving the integrity of many of its interconnections with the brainstem, upper spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system of the head and forelimbs. Evoked mossy fibre, climbing fibre and parallel fibre field potentials and EMG activity elicited in forelimb biceps muscle by interpositus stimulation provided evidence that both cerebellar inputs and outputs remain operational in this preparation. Similarly, the spontaneous and evoked single unit activity of Purkinje cells, putative Golgi cells, molecular interneurones and cerebellar nuclear neurones was similar to activity patterns reported in vivo. The advantages of the preparation include the ability to record, without the complications of anaesthesia, stabile single unit activity for extended periods (3 h or more), from regions of the rat cerebellum that are difficult to access in vivo. The preparation should therefore be a useful adjunct to in vitro and in vivo studies of neural circuits underlying cerebellar contributions to movement control and motor learning