The First Extrasolar Planet Discovered with a New Generation High Throughput Doppler Instrument

We report the detection of the first extrasolar planet, ET-1 (HD 102195b), using the Exoplanet Tracker (ET), a new generation Doppler instrument. The planet orbits HD 102195, a young star with solar metallicity that may be part of the local association. The planet imparts radial velocity variability to the star with a semiamplitude of $63.4\pm2.0$ m s$^{-1}$ and a period of 4.11 days. The planetary minimum mass ($m \sin i$) is $0.488\pm0.015$ $M_J$.Comment: 42 pages, 11 figures and 5 tables, Accepted for publication in Ap

Assessment of effectiveness measures in patients with schizophrenia initiated on risperidone long-acting therapy: the SOURCE study results

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To evaluate effectiveness outcomes in a real-world setting in patients with schizophrenia initiating risperidone long-acting therapy (RLAT).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a 24-month, multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, observational study in patients with schizophrenia who were initiated on RLAT. Physicians could change treatment during the study as clinically warranted. Data were collected at baseline and subsequently every 3 months up to 24 months. Effectiveness outcomes included changes in illness severity as measured by Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale; functional scores as measured by Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and Strauss-Carpenter Levels of Functioning (LOF); and health status (Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 [SF-36]). Life-table methodology was used to estimate the cumulative probability of relapse over time. Adverse events were evaluated for safety.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>532 patients were enrolled in the study; 209 (39.3%) completed the 24-month study and 305 (57.3%) had at least 12 months of follow-up data. The mean (SD) age of patients was 42.3 (12.8) years. Most patients were male (66.4%) and either Caucasian (60.3%) or African American (23.7%). All changes in CGI-S from baseline at each subsequent 3-month follow-up visit were statistically significant (<it>p </it>< .0001), indicating improvement in disease severity. Improvements were also noted for the PSP, GAF, and total LOF, indicating improvement in daily functioning and health outcome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patients with schizophrenia who were initiated on RLAT demonstrated improvements in measures of effectiveness within 3 months, which persisted over 24 months.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00246194">NCT00246194</a></p

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Tobacco and the risk of acute leukaemia in adults

Self-reported smoking histories were collected during face-to-face interviews with 807 patients with acute leukaemia and 1593 age- and sex-matched controls. Individuals who had smoked regularly at some time during their lives were more likely to develop acute leukaemia than those who had never smoked (odds ratio (OR) = 1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0–1.4). The association was strongest for current smokers, defined here as smoking 2 years before diagnosis (OR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–1.7). With respect to the numbers of years smoked, risk estimates were raised in all groups except those who had smoked for fewer than 10 years. Similarly, the odds ratio decreased as the number of years ‘stopped smoking’ increased, falling to one amongst those who had given up smoking for more than 10 years. No significant linear trends were found, however, with either the numbers of years smoked or the numbers of years stopped smoking, and no significant differences were found between AML and ALL. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Role of genetic testing for inherited prostate cancer risk: Philadelphia prostate cancer consensus conference 2017

Purpose: Guidelines are limited for genetic testing for prostate cancer (PCA). The goal of this conference was to develop an expert consensus-dri

KELT-25 B And KELT-26 B: A Hot Jupiter And A Substellar Companion Transiting Young A Stars Observed By TESS

We present the discoveries of KELT-25 b (TIC 65412605, TOI-626.01) and KELT-26 b (TIC 160708862, TOI-1337.01), two transiting companions orbiting relatively bright, early A stars. The transit signals were initially detected by the KELT survey and subsequently confirmed by Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) photometry. KELT-25 b is on a 4.40 day orbit around the V = 9.66 star CD-24 5016 (${T}_{\mathrm{eff}}={8280}_{-180}^{+440}$ K, Msstarf = ${2.18}_{-0.11}^{+0.12}$ M⊙), while KELT-26 b is on a 3.34 day orbit around the V = 9.95 star HD 134004 (${T}_{\mathrm{eff}}$ = ${8640}_{-240}^{+500}$K, Msstarf = ${1.93}_{-0.16}^{+0.14}$M⊙), which is likely an Am star. We have confirmed the substellar nature of both companions through detailed characterization of each system using ground-based and TESS photometry, radial velocity measurements, Doppler tomography, and high-resolution imaging. For KELT-25, we determine a companion radius of RP = ${1.64}_{-0.043}^{+0.039}$RJ and a 3σ upper limit on the companion\u27s mass of ~64 MJ. For KELT-26 b, we infer a planetary mass and radius of MP = ${1.41}_{-0.51}^{+0.43}$${M}_{{\rm{J}}}$and RP = ${1.94}_{-0.058}^{+0.060}$RJ. From Doppler tomographic observations, we find KELT-26 b to reside in a highly misaligned orbit. This conclusion is weakly corroborated by a subtle asymmetry in the transit light curve from the TESS data. KELT-25 b appears to be in a well-aligned, prograde orbit, and the system is likely a member of the cluster Theia 449

Adjunctive raloxifene treatment improves attention and memory in men and women with schizophrenia

There is increasing clinical and molecular evidence for the role of hormones and specifically estrogen and its receptor in schizophrenia. A selective estrogen receptor modulator, raloxifene, stimulates estrogen-like activity in brain and can improve cognition in older adults. The present study tested the extent to which adjunctive raloxifene treatment improved cognition and reduced symptoms in young to middle-age men and women with schizophrenia. Ninety-eight patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were recruited into a dual-site, thirteen-week, randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled, crossover trial of adjunctive raloxifene treatment in addition to their usual antipsychotic medications. Symptom severity and cognition in the domains of working memory, attention/processing speed, language and verbal memory were assessed at baseline, 6 and 13 weeks. Analyses of the initial 6-week phase of the study using a parallel groups design (with 39 patients receiving placebo and 40 receiving raloxifene) revealed that participants receiving adjunctive raloxifene treatment showed significant improvement relative to placebo in memory and attention/processing speed. There was no reduction in symptom severity with treatment compared with placebo. There were significant carryover effects, suggesting some cognitive benefits are sustained even after raloxifene withdrawal. Analysis of the 13-week crossover data revealed significant improvement with raloxifene only in attention/processing speed. This is the first study to show that daily, oral adjunctive raloxifene treatment at 120 mg per day has beneficial effects on attention/processing speed and memory for both men and women with schizophrenia. Thus, raloxifene may be useful as an adjunctive treatment for cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia.TW Weickert, D Weinberg, R Lenroot, SV Catts, R Wells, A Vercammen, M O, Donnell, C Galletly, D Liu, R Balzan, B Short, D Pellen, J Curtis, VJ Carr, J Kulkarni, PR Schofield and CS Weicker

Internet of Things for Sustainable Forestry

Forests and grasslands play an important role in water and air purification, prevention of the soil erosion, and in provision of habitat to wildlife. Internet of Things has a tremendous potential to play a vital role in the forest ecosystem management and stability. The conservation of species and habitats, timber production, prevention of forest soil degradation, forest fire prediction, mitigation, and control can be attained through forest management using Internet of Things. The use and adoption of IoT in forest ecosystem management is challenging due to many factors. Vast geographical areas and limited resources in terms of budget and equipment are some of the limiting factors. In digital forestry, IoT deployment offers effective operations, control, and forecasts for soil erosion, fires, and undesirable depositions. In this chapter, IoT sensing and communication applications are presented for digital forestry systems. Different IoT systems for digital forest monitoring applications are also discussed