LSQ13ddu: a rapidly evolving stripped-envelope supernova with early circumstellar interaction signatures

This paper describes the rapidly evolving and unusual supernova LSQ13ddu, discovered by the La Silla-QUEST survey. LSQ13ddu displayed a rapid rise of just 4.8 ± 0.9 d to reach a peak brightness of −19.70 ± 0.02 mag in the LSQgr band. Early spectra of LSQ13ddu showed the presence of weak and narrow HeI features arising from interaction with circumstellar material (CSM). These interaction signatures weakened quickly, with broad features consistent with those seen in stripped-envelope SNe becoming dominant around two weeks after maximum. The narrow HeI velocities are consistent with the wind velocities of luminous blue variables but its spectra lack the typically seen hydrogen features. The fast and bright early light curve is inconsistent with radioactive ⁵⁶Ni powering but can be explained through a combination of CSM interaction and an underlying ⁵⁶Ni decay component that dominates the later time behaviour of LSQ13ddu. Based on the strength of the underlying broad features, LSQ13ddu appears deficient in He compared to standard SNe Ib

The Implementation of Video and Telephone Psychological Therapy for Adults Accessing Secondary NHS Community Mental Health Services A mixed-methods Evaluation to Understand What Works, for Whom and In What Circumstances

Background The urgent response to the COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated many changes in the delivery of health services. One such change is the introduction of telemedicine (i.e. virtual consultations) at pace and in services that had previously relied on face-to-face interaction. NHS mental health services are at the forefront of this change, with the delivery of therapeutic interventions transitioning to virtual consultations rapidly. Healthcare innovation is rarely a simple linear process; accordingly, it is crucial evaluation approaches focus on how contextual factors influence implementation success or failure. The discipline of implementation science provides this approach, defined as the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings into routine practice. Aim The study used an implementation science to evaluate the implementation of virtual therapy consultations and assess impact on service user outcomes

Undergraduate Biology Education Research Gordon Research Conference: A Meeting Report

The 2019 Undergraduate Biology Education Research Gordon Research Conference (UBER GRC), titled “Achieving Widespread Improvement in Undergraduate Education,” brought together a diverse group of researchers and practitioners working to identify, promote, and understand widespread adoption of evidence-based teaching, learning, and success strategies in undergraduate biology. Graduate students and postdocs had the additional opportunity to present and discuss research during a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) that preceded the GRC. This report provides a broad overview of the UBER GRC and GRS and highlights major themes that cut across invited talks, poster presentations, and informal discussions. Such themes include the importance of working in teams at multiple levels to achieve instructional improvement, the potential to use big data and analytics to inform instructional change, the need to customize change initiatives, and the importance of psychosocial supports in improving undergraduate student well-being and academic success. The report also discusses the future of the UBER GRC as an established meeting and describes aspects of the conference that make it unique, both in terms of facilitating dissemination of research and providing a welcoming environment for conferees

International patient and physician consensus on a psoriatic arthritis core outcome set for clinical trials

© 2017 Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. Objective To identify a core set of domains (outcomes) to be measured in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) clinical trials that represent both patients' and physicians' priorities. Methods We conducted (1) a systematic literature review (SLR) of domains assessed in PsA; (2) international focus groups to identify domains important to people with PsA; (3) two international surveys with patients and physicians to prioritise domains; (4) an international face-To-face meeting with patients and physicians using the nominal group technique method to agree on the most important domains; and (5) presentation and votes at the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) conference in May 2016. All phases were performed in collaboration with patient research partners. Results We identified 39 unique domains through the SLR (24 domains) and international focus groups (34 domains). 50 patients and 75 physicians rated domain importance. During the March 2016 consensus meeting, 12 patients and 12 physicians agreed on 10 candidate domains. Then, 49 patients and 71 physicians rated these domains' importance. Five were important to >70% of both groups: musculoskeletal disease activity, skin disease activity, structural damage, pain and physical function. Fatigue and participation were important to >70% of patients. Patient global and systemic inflammation were important to >70% of physicians. The updated PsA core domain set endorsed by 90% of OMERACT 2016 participants includes musculoskeletal disease activity, skin disease activity, pain, patient global, physical function, health-related quality of life, fatigue and systemic inflammation. Conclusions The updated PsA core domain set incorporates patients' and physicians' priorities and evolving PsA research. Next steps include identifying outcome measures that adequately assess these domains

LSQ13ddu: a rapidly evolving stripped-envelope supernova with early circumstellar interaction signatures

This paper describes the rapidly evolving and unusual supernova LSQ13ddu, discovered by the La Silla-QUEST survey. LSQ13ddu displayed a rapid rise of just 4.8 +/- 0.9 d to reach a peak brightness of -19.70 +/- 0.02 mag in the LSQgr band. Early spectra of LSQ13ddu showed the presence of weak and narrow He I features arising from interaction with circumstellar material (CSM). These interaction signatures weakened quickly, with broad features consistent with those seen in stripped-envelope SNe becoming dominant around two weeks after maximum. The narrow He I velocities are consistent with the wind velocities of luminous blue variables but its spectra lack the typically seen hydrogen features. The fast and bright early light curve is inconsistent with radioactive Ni-56 powering but can be explained through a combination of CSM interaction and an underlying Ni-56 decay component that dominates the later time behaviour of LSQ13ddu. Based on the strength of the underlying broad features, LSQ13ddu appears deficient in He compared to standard SNe Ib

Signatures of circumstellar interaction in the Type IIL supernova ASASSN-15oz

Hydrogen-rich, core-collapse supernovae are typically divided into four classes: IIP, IIL, IIn, and IIb. Recent hydrodynamic modelling shows that circumstellar material is required to produce the early light curves of most IIP/IIL supernovae. In this scenario, IIL supernovae experience large amounts of mass-loss before exploding. We test this hypothesis on ASASSN-15oz, a Type IIL supernova. With extensive follow-up in the X-ray, UV, optical, IR, and radio, we present our search for signs of interaction and the mass-loss history indicated by their detection. We find evidence of short-lived intense mass-loss just prior to explosion from light-curve modelling, amounting in 1.5 M-circle dot of material within 1800 R-circle dot of the progenitor. We also detect the supernova in the radio, indicating mass-loss rates of 10(-6) to 10(-7) M-circle dot yr(-1) prior to the extreme mass-loss period. Our failure to detect the supernova in the X-ray and the lack of narrow emission lines in the UV, optical, and NIR do not contradict this picture and place an upper limit on the mass-loss rate outside the extreme period of <10(-4) M-circle dot yr(-1). This paper highlights the importance gathering comprehensive data on more Type II supernovae to enable detailed modelling of the progenitor and supernova which can elucidate their mass-loss histories and envelope structures and thus inform stellar evolution models

Observations of Circumstellar Interaction in Diverse CCSNe

In this thesis, I investigate the observational properties of two supernovae displaying strong signatures of interaction with circumstellar material, and how they contribute to furthering our understanding of their respective subtypes. The first part of this thesis concerns the photometric and spectroscopic analysis of SN 2018zd. I coordinated the follow-up campaign for this object on behalf of the NUTS collaboration, acquiring hours of observations in the UV through NIR bands. I determine that this transient event is the result of the Fe core collapse of a 8-10M¿ red supergiant. The high ionisation lines observed in the early epochs of spectra are the observational signature of delayed shock breakout through circumstellar material detached from the progenitor envelope. Finally, I compare SN 2018zd to the sample of objects known as LLEV’s, luminous low expansion velocity transients; these objects have an enhanced plateau magnitude relative to their expansion velocities due to the extra photon source provided by early time interaction with circumstellar material. This enhanced plateau luminosity affects the inclusion of these objects in samples used to derive correlations from “normal” Type II SN characteristics. One such relationship we investigate is the Standard Candle Method, which can be used to estimate distances to Type IIP SNe where spectra are lacking, and we show that SN 2018zd breaks this correlation. I propose that a caveat should be attached to the Standard Candle Method, and other similar photometric distance estimate methods for Type IIP SNe, that in the absence of early spectral observations to rule out interaction with circumstellar material, strict cuts should be applied to the light curves of these transients before they are included in such samples. The second half of this thesis concerns the analysis of an archival dataset for SN 2015G, comprising of one of the highest cadence and lengthy follow-up campaigns of a Type Ibn SNe to date. SN 2015G was one of the closest observed Type Ibn’s at a distance of ~20.9 Mpc, allowing for prolonged observations of the tail phase, up to approximately six and a half months after discovery. We observed undulations in the light curve, and determine that these are the result of prolonged interaction with circumstellar material ejected shortly prior to the SN explosion. This excludes production of the circumstellar material via smooth progenitor winds, and we conclude that the material was most likely stripped by a binary companion. The results presented in this thesis span nearly the full range of possible circumstellar interaction scenarios, from the very brief, early interaction of SN 2018zd, to the interaction observed in SN 2015G which endured for the entire follow-up campaign. Both studies further our understanding of how interaction affects the evolution of transients; they bolster the broad diversity possible even within well established subtypes of SNe, and act as an all important reminder that our understanding of these subtypes is still limited by the cadences, duration, and wavelength coverage of our observational follow-up capabilities.2022-11-08 JG: Author's signature removed from PD

LSQ13ddu: a rapidly evolving stripped-envelope supernova with early circumstellar interaction signatures

This paper describes the rapidly evolving and unusual supernova LSQ13ddu, discovered by the La Silla-QUEST survey. LSQ13ddu displayed a rapid rise of just 4.8 ± 0.9 d to reach a peak brightness of −19.70 ± 0.02 mag in the LSQgr band. Early spectra of LSQ13ddu showed the presence of weak and narrow [Math Processing Error] features arising from interaction with circumstellar material (CSM). These interaction signatures weakened quickly, with broad features consistent with those seen in stripped-envelope SNe becoming dominant around two weeks after maximum. The narrow [Math Processing Error] velocities are consistent with the wind velocities of luminous blue variables but its spectra lack the typically seen hydrogen features. The fast and bright early light curve is inconsistent with radioactive 56Ni powering but can be explained through a combination of CSM interaction and an underlying 56Ni decay component that dominates the later time behaviour of LSQ13ddu. Based on the strength of the underlying broad features, LSQ13ddu appears deficient in He compared to standard SNe Ib

Signatures of circumstellar interaction in the Type IIL Supernova ASASSN-15oz

Hydrogen-rich, core-collapse supernovae are typically divided into four classes: IIP, IIL, IIn, and IIb. Recent hydrodynamic modeling shows that circumstellar material is required to produce the early light curves of most IIP/IIL supernovae. In this scenario, IIL supernovae experience large amounts of mass loss before exploding. We test this hypothesis on ASASSN-15oz, a Type IIL supernova. With extensive follow-up in the X-ray, UV, optical, IR, and radio we present our search for signs of interaction, and the mass-loss history indicated by their detection. We find evidence of short lived intense mass-loss just prior to explosion from light curve modeling ,amounting in 1.5 M☉ of material within 1800 R☉ of the progenitor. Wealso detect the supernova in the radio, indicating mass-loss rates of 10-6 - 10-7 M☉ yr-1 prior to the extreme mass-loss period. Our failure to detect the supernova in the X-ray and the lack of narrow emission lines in the UV, optical, and NIR do not contradict this picture and place an upper limit on the mass-loss rate outside the extreme period of &lt; 10-4 M☉ yr-1. This paper highlights the importance gathering comprehensive data on more Type II supernovae to enable detailed modeling of the progenitor and supernova which can elucidate their mass-loss histories and envelope structures and thus inform stellar evolution models

Identification of 15 new psoriasis susceptibility loci highlights the role of innate immunity

To gain further insight into the genetic architecture of psoriasis, we conducted a meta-analysis of 3 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and 2 independent data sets genotyped on the Immunochip, including 10,588 cases and 22,806 controls. We identified 15 new susceptibility loci, increasing to 36 the number associated with psoriasis in European individuals. We also identified, using conditional analyses, five independent signals within previously known loci. The newly identified loci shared with other autoimmune diseases include candidate genes with roles in regulating T-cell function (such as RUNX3, TAGAP and STAT3). Notably, they included candidate genes whose products are involved in innate host defense, including interferon-mediated antiviral responses (DDX58), macrophage activation (ZC3H12C) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling (CARD14 and CARM1). These results portend a better understanding of shared and distinctive genetic determinants of immune-mediated inflammatory disorders and emphasize the importance of the skin in innate and acquired host defense