An ALMA/NOEMA survey of the molecular gas properties of high-redshift star-forming galaxies

We have used ALMA and NOEMA to study the molecular gas reservoirs in 61 ALMA-identified submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) in the COSMOS, UDS, and ECDFS fields. We detect 12CO (⁠Jup= 2–5) emission lines in 50 sources, and [C I](3P1 − 3P0) emission in eight, at z= 1.2–4.8 and with a median redshift of 2.9 ± 0.2. By supplementing our data with literature sources, we construct a statistical CO spectral line energy distribution and find that the 12CO line luminosities in SMGs peak at Jup ∼ 6, consistent with similar studies. We also test the correlations of the CO, [C I], and dust as tracers of the gas mass, finding the three to correlate well, although the CO and dust mass as estimated from the 3-mm continuum are preferable. We estimate that SMGs lie mostly on or just above the star-forming main sequence, with a median gas depletion timescale, tdep = Mgas/SFR, of 210 ± 40 Myr for our sample. Additionally, tdep declines with redshift across z ∼ 1–5, while the molecular gas fraction, μgas = Mgas/M*, increases across the same redshift range. Finally, we demonstrate that the distribution of total baryonic mass and dynamical line width, Mbaryon–σ, for our SMGs is consistent with that followed by early-type galaxies in the Coma cluster, providing strong support to the suggestion that SMGs are progenitors of massive local spheroidal galaxies. On the basis of this, we suggest that the SMG populations above and below an 870-μm flux limit of S870 ∼ 5 mJy may correspond to the division between slow and fast rotators seen in local early-type galaxies

Can big data solve a big problem? Reporting the obesity data landscape in line with the Foresight obesity system map.

BACKGROUND: Obesity research at a population level is multifaceted and complex. This has been characterised in the UK by the Foresight obesity systems map, identifying over 100 variables, across seven domain areas which are thought to influence energy balance, and subsequent obesity. Availability of data to consider the whole obesity system is traditionally lacking. However, in an era of big data, new possibilities are emerging. Understanding what data are available can be the first challenge, followed by an inconsistency in data reporting to enable adequate use in the obesity context. In this study we map data sources against the Foresight obesity system map domains and nodes and develop a framework to report big data for obesity research. Opportunities and challenges associated with this new data approach to whole systems obesity research are discussed. METHODS: Expert opinion from the ESRC Strategic Network for Obesity was harnessed in order to develop a data source reporting framework for obesity research. The framework was then tested on a range of data sources. In order to assess availability of data sources relevant to obesity research, a data mapping exercise against the Foresight obesity systems map domains and nodes was carried out. RESULTS: A reporting framework was developed to recommend the reporting of key information in line with these headings: Background; Elements; Exemplars; Content; Ownership; Aggregation; Sharing; Temporality (BEE-COAST). The new BEE-COAST framework was successfully applied to eight exemplar data sources from the UK. 80% coverage of the Foresight obesity systems map is possible using a wide range of big data sources. The remaining 20% were primarily biological measurements often captured by more traditional laboratory based research. CONCLUSIONS: Big data offer great potential across many domains of obesity research and need to be leveraged in conjunction with traditional data for societal benefit and health promotion

The ‘Biophilic Organization’: An Integrative Metaphor for Corporate Sustainability

This paper proposes a new organizational metaphor, the ‘Biophilic Organization’, which aims to counter the bio-cultural disconnection of many organizations despite their espoused commitment to sustainability. This conceptual research draws on multiple disciplines such as evolutionary psychology and architecture to not only develop a diverse bio-cultural connection but to show how this connection tackles sustainability, in a holistic and systemic sense. Moreover, the paper takes an integrative view of sustainability, which effectively means that it embraces the different emergent tensions. Three specific tensions are explored: efficiency versus resilience, organizational versus personal agendas and isomorphism versus institutional change. In order to illustrate how the Biophilic Organization could potentially provide a synthesis strategy for such tensions, healthcare examples are drawn from the emerging fields of Biophilic Design in Singapore and Generative Design in the U.S.A. Finally, an example is provided which highlights how a Taoist cultural context has impacted on a business leader in China, to illustrative the significance of a transcendent belief system to such a bio-cultural narrative

An ALMA survey of the SCUBA-2 CLS UDS field: Physical properties of 707 Sub-millimetre Galaxies

We analyse the physical properties of a large, homogeneously selected sample of ALMA-located sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs). This survey, AS2UDS, identified 707 SMGs across the ∼ 1 deg2 field, including ∼ 17 per cent which are undetected at K ≳ 25.7 mag. We interpret their UV-to-radio data using MAGPHYS and determine a median redshift of z = 2.61±0.08 (1-σ range of z = 1.8–3.4) with just ∼ 6 per cent at z > 4. Our survey provides a sample of massive dusty galaxies at z ≳ 1, with median dust and stellar masses of Md = (6.8±0.3) × 108 M⊙ (thus, gas masses of ∼ 1011 M⊙) and M* = (1.26±0.05) × 1011 M⊙. We find no evolution in dust temperature at a constant far-infrared luminosity across z ∼ 1.5–4. The gas mass function of our sample increases to z ∼ 2–3 and then declines at z > 3. The space density and masses of SMGs suggest that almost all galaxies with M* ≳ 3 × 1011 M⊙ have passed through an SMG-like phase. The redshift distribution is well fit by a model combining evolution of the gas fraction in halos with the growth of halo mass past a critical threshold of Mh ∼ 6 × 1012 M⊙, thus SMGs may represent the highly efficient collapse of gas-rich massive halos. We show that SMGs are broadly consistent with simple homologous systems in the far-infrared, consistent with a centrally illuminated starburst. Our study provides strong support for an evolutionary link between the active, gas-rich SMG population at z > 1 and the formation of massive, bulge-dominated galaxies across the history of the Universe

Determination of Trace Bismuth by Under-Potential Deposition-Stripping Voltammetry at Mesoporous Platinum Microelectrodes: Application to Pharmaceutical Products

A methodology for the determination of bismuth, based on under-potential deposition-stripping voltammetry (UPD-SV), was investigated. It makes use of mesoporous platinum microelectrodes (Pt-MEs) prepared by a liquid crystal templating technique. The mesoporous microelectrodes, which are characterised by a very high surface area, allowed the accumulation of relatively large amounts of bismuth at under-potential without saturation of the electrode surface. Calibration plots for quantification of bismuth at micromolar levels were constructed by using the charge involved in either the anodic or cathodic peak recoded by cyclic voltammetry that ensued the accumulation of bismuth at the electrode surface. During the anodic scan, the oxidation of metallic bismuth occurred; the cathodic scan involved irreversibly adsorbed bismuth species, which are retained on to the electrode surface. The reproducibility of the proposed UPD-SV procedure (which was within 5 %) was assured by the application to the Pt-MEs of a suitable potential waveform, properly designed to avoid memory effect due to the irreversibly deposited bismuth. The latter phenomenon along with UPD allowed to overcome interference due to copper, which is normally observed when quantification of bismuth is performed by anodic stripping voltammetry at solid electrodes involving bulk metal deposits. The usefulness of the proposed method for the determination of bismuth in real samples was demonstrated by the analysis of a tablet of a pharmaceutical preparation, which is used for curing ulcers