Confronting a solar irradiance reconstruction with solar and stellar data

Context. A recent paper by Shapiro and colleagues (2011, A&A, 529, A67) reconstructs spectral and total irradiance variations of the Sun during the holocene. Aims. In this note, we comment on why their methodology leads to large (0.5%) variations in the solar TSI on century-long time scales, in stark contrast to other reconstructions which have ≲ 0.1% variations. Methods. We examine the amplitude of the irradiance variations from the point of view of both solar and stellar data. Results. Shapiro et al.’s large amplitudes arise from differences between the irradiances computed from models A and C of Fontenla and colleagues, and from their explicit assumption that the radiances of the quiet Sun vary with the cosmic ray modulation potential. We suggest that the upper photosphere, as given by model A, is too cool, and discuss relative contributions of local vs. global dynamos to the magnetism and irradiance of the quiet Sun. We compare the slow (\u3e22 yr) components of the irradiance reconstructions with secular changes in stellar photometric data that span 20 years or less, and find that the Sun, if varying with such large amplitudes, would still lie within the distribution of stellar photometric variations measured over a 10−20 year period. However, the stellar time series are individually too short to see if the reconstructed variations will remain consistent with stellar variations when observed for several decades more. Conclusions. By adopting model A, Shapiro et al. have over-estimated quiet-Sun irradiance variations by about a factor of two, based upon a re-analysis of sub-mm data from the James Clerk Maxwell telescope. But both estimates are within bounds set by current stellar data. It is therefore vital to continue accurate photometry of solar-like stars for at least another decade, to reveal secular and cyclic variations on multi-decadal time scales of direct interest to the Sun

A Call to Action for Optimizing the Electronic Health Record in the Parenteral Nutrition Workflow

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is a complex therapeutic modality provided to neonates, children, and adults for various indications. Surveys have shown that current electronic health record (EHR) systems are in need of functionality enhancement for safe and optimal delivery of PN. This is a consensus statement from the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the American Society of Health‐System Pharmacists outlining some of the key challenges to prescribing, order review/verification, compounding, and administration of PN using EHRs today and is a call to action for clinicians and vendors to optimize their EHRs regarding the PN build and workflow.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146340/1/ncp10095.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146340/2/ncp10095_am.pd

A Call to Action for Optimizing the Electronic Health Record in the Parenteral Nutrition Workflow: Executive Summary

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is a complex therapeutic modality provided to neonates, children, and adults for various indications. Surveys have shown that current electronic health record (EHR) systems are in need of functionality enhancement for safe and optimal delivery of PN. This is a consensus statement from the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the American Society of Health‐System Pharmacists outlining some of the key challenges to prescribing, order review/verification, compounding, and administration of PN using EHRs today and is a call to action for clinicians and vendors to optimize their EHRs regarding the PN build and workflow.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146349/1/ncp10202.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146349/2/ncp10202_am.pd

Ventilation of the abyssal Southern Ocean during the late Neogene: A new perspective from the subantarctic Pacific

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94630/1/palo1532.pd

Merging paleobiology with conservation biology to guide the future of terrestrial ecosystems

Conservation of species and ecosystems is increasingly difficult because anthropogenic impacts are pervasive and accelerating. Under this rapid global change, maximizing conservation success requires a paradigm shift from maintaining ecosystems in idealized past states toward facilitating their adaptive and functional capacities, even as species ebb and flow individually. Developing effective strategies under this new paradigm will require deeper understanding of the long-term dynamics that govern ecosystem persistence and reconciliation of conflicts among approaches to conserving historical versus novel ecosystems. Integrating emerging information from conservation biology, paleobiology, and the Earth sciences is an important step forward on the path to success. Maintaining nature in all its aspects will also entail immediately addressing the overarching threats of growing human population, overconsumption, pollution, and climate change.Peer reviewe

Dysregulation of PRMT5 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia promotes progression with high risk of Richter's transformation

: Richter's Transformation (RT) is a poorly understood and fatal progression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) manifesting histologically as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is implicated in lymphomagenesis, but its role in CLL or RT progression is unknown. We demonstrate herein that tumors uniformly overexpress PRMT5 in patients with progression to RT. Furthermore, mice with B-specific overexpression of hPRMT5 develop a B-lymphoid expansion with increased risk of death, and Eµ-PRMT5/TCL1 double transgenic mice develop a highly aggressive disease with transformation that histologically resembles RT; where large-scale transcriptional profiling identifies oncogenic pathways mediating PRMT5-driven disease progression. Lastly, we report the development of a SAM-competitive PRMT5 inhibitor, PRT382, with exclusive selectivity and optimal in vitro and in vivo activity compared to available PRMT5 inhibitors. Taken together, the discovery that PRMT5 drives oncogenic pathways promoting RT provides a compelling rationale for clinical investigation of PRMT5 inhibitors such as PRT382 in aggressive CLL/RT cases

Strong Carbon Features and a Red Early Color in the Underluminous Type Ia SN 2022xkq

We present optical, infrared, ultraviolet, and radio observations of SN 2022xkq, an underluminous fast-declining type Ia supernova (SN Ia) in NGC 1784 ($\mathrm{D}\approx31$ Mpc), from $<1$ to 180 days after explosion. The high-cadence observations of SN 2022xkq, a photometrically transitional and spectroscopically 91bg-like SN Ia, cover the first days and weeks following explosion which are critical to distinguishing between explosion scenarios. The early light curve of SN 2022xkq has a red early color and exhibits a flux excess which is more prominent in redder bands; this is the first time such a feature has been seen in a transitional/91bg-like SN Ia. We also present 92 optical and 19 near-infrared (NIR) spectra, beginning 0.4 days after explosion in the optical and 2.6 days after explosion in the NIR. SN 2022xkq exhibits a long-lived C I 1.0693 $\mu$m feature which persists until 5 days post-maximum. We also detect C II $\lambda$6580 in the pre-maximum optical spectra. These lines are evidence for unburnt carbon that is difficult to reconcile with the double detonation of a sub-Chandrasekhar mass white dwarf. No existing explosion model can fully explain the photometric and spectroscopic dataset of SN 2022xkq, but the considerable breadth of the observations is ideal for furthering our understanding of the processes which produce faint SNe Ia.Comment: 38 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, the figure 15 input models and synthetic spectra are now available at https://zenodo.org/record/837925

A Large-Scale Rheumatoid Arthritis Genetic Study Identifies Association at Chromosome 9q33.2

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease affecting both joints and extra-articular tissues. Although some genetic risk factors for RA are well-established, most notably HLA-DRB1 and PTPN22, these markers do not fully account for the observed heritability. To identify additional susceptibility loci, we carried out a multi-tiered, case-control association study, genotyping 25,966 putative functional SNPs in 475 white North American RA patients and 475 matched controls. Significant markers were genotyped in two additional, independent, white case-control sample sets (661 cases/1322 controls from North America and 596 cases/705 controls from The Netherlands) identifying a SNP, rs1953126, on chromosome 9q33.2 that was significantly associated with RA (ORcommon = 1.28, trend Pcomb = 1.45E-06). Through a comprehensive fine-scale-mapping SNP-selection procedure, 137 additional SNPs in a 668 kb region from MEGF9 to STOM on 9q33.2 were chosen for follow-up genotyping in a staged-approach. Significant single marker results (Pcomb<0.01) spanned a large 525 kb region from FBXW2 to GSN. However, a variety of analyses identified SNPs in a 70 kb region extending from the third intron of PHF19 across TRAF1 into the TRAF1-C5 intergenic region, but excluding the C5 coding region, as the most interesting (trend Pcomb: 1.45E-06 → 5.41E-09). The observed association patterns for these SNPs had heightened statistical significance and a higher degree of consistency across sample sets. In addition, the allele frequencies for these SNPs displayed reduced variability between control groups when compared to other SNPs. Lastly, in combination with the other two known genetic risk factors, HLA-DRB1 and PTPN22, the variants reported here generate more than a 45-fold RA-risk differential

Microbiomes of Thalassia testudinum throughout the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico are influenced by site and region while maintaining a core microbiome

Plant microbiomes are known to serve several important functions for their host, and it is therefore important to understand their composition as well as the factors that may influence these microbial communities. The microbiome of Thalassia testudinum has only recently been explored, and studies to-date have primarily focused on characterizing the microbiome of plants in a single region. Here, we present the first characterization of the composition of the microbial communities of T. testudinum across a wide geographical range spanning three distinct regions with varying physicochemical conditions. We collected samples of leaves, roots, sediment, and water from six sites throughout the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. We then analyzed these samples using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. We found that site and region can influence the microbial communities of T. testudinum, while maintaining a plant-associated core microbiome. A comprehensive comparison of available microbial community data from T. testudinum studies determined a core microbiome composed of 14 ASVs that consisted mostly of the family Rhodobacteraceae. The most abundant genera in the microbial communities included organisms with possible plant-beneficial functions, like plant-growth promoting taxa, disease suppressing taxa, and nitrogen fixers