Multiwavelength Studies of Young OB Associations

We discuss how contemporary multiwavelength observations of young OB-dominated clusters address long-standing astrophysical questions: Do clusters form rapidly or slowly with an age spread? When do clusters expand and disperse to constitute the field star population? Do rich clusters form by amalgamation of smaller subclusters? What is the pattern and duration of cluster formation in massive star forming regions (MSFRs)? Past observational difficulties in obtaining good stellar censuses of MSFRs have been alleviated in recent studies that combine X-ray and infrared surveys to obtain rich, though still incomplete, censuses of young stars in MSFRs. We describe here one of these efforts, the MYStIX project, that produced a catalog of 31,784 probable members of 20 MSFRs. We find that age spread within clusters are real in the sense that the stars in the core formed after the cluster halo. Cluster expansion is seen in the ensemble of (sub)clusters, and older dispersing populations are found across MSFRs. Direct evidence for subcluster merging is still unconvincing. Long-lived, asynchronous star formation is pervasive across MSFRs.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. To appear in "The Origin of Stellar Clusters", edited by Steven Stahler, Springer, 2017, in pres

Glycoprotein gene truncation in avian metapneumovirus subtype C isolates from the United States

The length of the published glycoprotein (G) gene sequences of avian metapneumovirus subtype-C (aMPV-C) isolated from domestic turkeys and wild birds in the United States (1996–2003) remains controversial. To explore the G gene size variation in aMPV-C by the year of isolation and cell culture passage levels, we examined 21 turkey isolates of aMPV-C at different cell culture passages. The early domestic turkey isolates of aMPV-C (aMPV/CO/1996, aMPV/MN/1a-b, and 2a-b/97) had a G gene of 1,798 nucleotides (nt) that coded for a predicted protein of 585 amino acids (aa) and showed >97% nt similarity with that of aMPV-C isolated from Canada geese. This large G gene got truncated upon serial passages in Vero cell cultures by deletion of 1,015 nt near the end of the open reading frame. The recent domestic turkey isolates of aMPV-C lacked the large G gene but instead had a small G gene of 783 nt, irrespective of cell culture passage levels. In some cultures, both large and small genes were detected, indicating the existence of a mixed population of the virus. Apparently, serial passage of aMPV-C in cell cultures and natural passage in turkeys in the field led to truncation of the G gene, which may be a mechanism of virus evolution for survival in a new host or environment

Representing violent women Gender and crime reporting in the British print media

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:D205236 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Stagodontid marsupials from the Late Cretaceous of Canada and their systematic and functional implications

Previously undescribed specimens of stagodontid marsupials from Late Cretaceous deposits in Alberta, Canada, reveal new information concerning the upper dentition of Eodelphisspp. and the lower dentition of Didelphodon coyi. Additionally, an incomplete upper dentition of D. coyi from the Scollard Formation extends the range of this species into the Lancian, co−eval with D. vorax and D. padanicus. Stagodontids are in accord with other North American Late Cretaceous marsupials for which the appropriate parts are known in lacking diastemata between the canines and the molars while possessing well−developed palatal vacuities, implying that these morphologies characterized ancestral marsupials. If so, the diastema between P1 and P2 in the Asian middle Early Cretaceous “metatherian” Sinodelphys szalayi is convergent on that in Cenozoic didelphids, and the absence of palatal vacuities in South American Paleogene and Neogene borhyaenids is derived, representing a paedomorphic truncation of development. Claims that the Asian Late Cretaceous “metatherian” Deltatheridium pretrituberculare had a marsupial−like dental replacement pattern are tautological, deduced from an a priori acceptance of a marsupial model of replacement to the exclusion of other, no less realistic, alternatives. The new specimens of Didelphodon coyi demonstrate that upper and lower premolars occluded broadly, implying that the inflated lingual lobes characteristic of Didelphodon premolars evolved primarily as a crushing mechanism, not for passive protection of the gums. Recent speculations that stagodontids were aquatic are not based on credible morphologic or taphonomic evidence and are dismissed, as is speculation that the Judithian species of Eodelphis are sexual morphs of a single species. Current knowledge of Didelphodon compels correction of numerous errors concerning its morphology as presented in recent analyses of marsupial relationships

Weighing up the evidence: The contribution of critical literature reviews to the development of practice

Over the past decade there has been increasing awareness of the importance of using sound research evidence to assist clinicians, patients and clients to make informed decisions about aspects of care. The recent drive towards promoting evidence-based healthcare has provided an added impetus, highlighting the important and unique contribution of systematic reviews to this decision-making process. This paper argues that healthcare professionals should also draw on evidence and insights derived from a broader range of research traditions rather than relying on synthesised evidence from randomised controlled trials. The potential of other types of literature is explored