Formation of Super-Earths

Super-Earths are the most abundant planets known to date and are characterized by having sizes between that of Earth and Neptune, typical orbital periods of less than 100 days and gaseous envelopes that are often massive enough to significantly contribute to the planet's overall radius. Furthermore, super-Earths regularly appear in tightly-packed multiple-planet systems, but resonant configurations in such systems are rare. This chapters summarizes current super-Earth formation theories. It starts from the formation of rocky cores and subsequent accretion of gaseous envelopes. We follow the thermal evolution of newly formed super-Earths and discuss their atmospheric mass loss due to disk dispersal, photoevaporation, core-cooling and collisions. We conclude with a comparison of observations and theoretical predictions, highlighting that even super-Earths that appear as barren rocky cores today likely formed with primordial hydrogen and helium envelopes and discuss some paths forward for the future.Comment: Invited review accepted for publication in the 'Handbook of Exoplanets,' Planet Formation section, Springer Reference Works, Juan Antonio Belmonte and Hans Deeg, Ed

Linking high-frequency DOC dynamics to the age of connected water sources

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank our NRI colleagues for all their help with field and laboratory work, especially Audrey Innes, Jonathan Dick, and Ann Porter. We would like to also thank Iain Malcolm (Marine Scotland Science) for providing AWS data and the European Research Council ERC (project GA 335910 VEWA) for funding the VeWa project. Please contact the authors for access to the data used in this paper. We would also like to thank the Natural Environment Research Council NERC (project NE/K000268/1) for funding.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Sclerotium rolfsii Lectin Induces Stronger Inhibition of Proliferation in Human Breast Cancer Cells than Normal Human Mammary Epithelial Cells by Induction of Cell Apoptosis

Sclerotium rolfsii lectin (SRL) isolated from the phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotium rolfsii has exquisite binding specificity towards O-linked, Thomsen-Freidenreich (Galβ1-3GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr, TF) associated glycans. This study investigated the influence of SRL on proliferation of human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and ZR-75), non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cells (MCF-10A) and normal mammary epithelial cells (HMECs). SRL caused marked, dose-dependent, inhibition of proliferation of MCF-7 and ZR-75 cells but only weak inhibition of proliferation of non-tumorigenic MCF-10A and HMEC cells. The inhibitory effect of SRL on cancer cell proliferation was shown to be a consequence of SRL cell surface binding and subsequent induction of cellular apoptosis, an effect that was largely prevented by the presence of inhibitors against caspases -3, -8, or -9. Lectin histochemistry using biotin-labelled SRL showed little binding of SRL to normal human breast tissue but intense binding to cancerous tissues. In conclusion, SRL inhibits the growth of human breast cancer cells via induction of cell apoptosis but has substantially less effect on normal epithelial cells. As a lectin that binds specifically to a cancer-associated glycan, has potential to be developed as an anti-cancer agent

Aqueous Behaviour of Chitosan

Chitosan, a versatile biopolymer, finds numerous applications in textile processing unit operations such as preparation, dyeing, printing, and finishing. However, the accessibility of this biopolymer by the textile material depends on the viscosity of its solution which in turn is a function of its molecular weight. In this work, therefore, the effect of molecular weight, storage life, presence of electrolyte, and particle size of chitosan on its viscosity was investigated. Chitosan of different molecular weights was synthesized by nitrous acid hydrolysis of parent chitosan solution. The synthesized low molecular weight products were analysed by FTIR spectroscopy. Chitosan of nanoconfiguration was prepared by Ionotropic gelation method and characterized by particle size analyzer. The viscosity of different chitosan solutions was determined using Ubbelohde capillary viscometer. As an extension to this study, the chelation property of chitosan was also evaluated

Maternal smoking during pregnancy and scholastic achievement in childhood: evidence from the LIFECOURSE cohort study.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked FilesResearch on the impact of maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) on scholastic achievement in the offspring has shown conflicting findings. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of MSDP on scholastic achievement in a birth cohort of children in 4th, 7th and 10th grades.We analysed data from the LIFECOURSE study, a cohort study of risk and protective factors in all children born in Reykjavik, Iceland, in the year 2000 (N = 1151, girls = 49.3%). Retrospective registry data for 2014-2015 were merged with prospective survey data that were collected in April 2016. Data on MSDP were assessed during regular antenatal visits at the end of the first trimester. Standardized academic achievement scores were obtained from official school transcripts. Data were analysed using OLS regressions that were entered in three hierarchical blocks.Children of mothers who smoked tobacco during the first trimester consistently revealed between 5% and 7% lower scores on standardized academic achievement in 4th, 7th and 10th grade (∼6-8 points on a normally distributed 120 point scale) than those of mothers who had not smoked tobacco during this period (P < 0.05). These findings held after controlling for several factors associated with the time of birth (e.g. birth weight, maternal age at birth, birth order, parental cohabitation and household income), as well as the year of scholastic assessment (parental cohabitation, household income and parental education).Maternal smoking during pregnancy was negatively related to scholastic achievement in the offspring during 4th, 7th and 10th grade.European Research Counci

Assessing the conservation value of waterbodies: the example of the Loire floodplain (France)

In recent decades, two of the main management tools used to stem biodiversity erosion have been biodiversity monitoring and the conservation of natural areas. However, socio-economic pressure means that it is not usually possible to preserve the entire landscape, and so the rational prioritisation of sites has become a crucial issue. In this context, and because floodplains are one of the most threatened ecosystems, we propose a statistical strategy for evaluating conservation value, and used it to prioritise 46 waterbodies in the Loire floodplain (France). We began by determining a synthetic conservation index of fish communities (Q) for each waterbody. This synthetic index includes a conservation status index, an origin index, a rarity index and a richness index. We divided the waterbodies into 6 clusters with distinct structures of the basic indices. One of these clusters, with high Q median value, indicated that 4 waterbodies are important for fish biodiversity conservation. Conversely, two clusters with low Q median values included 11 waterbodies where restoration is called for. The results picked out high connectivity levels and low abundance of aquatic vegetation as the two main environmental characteristics of waterbodies with high conservation value. In addition, assessing the biodiversity and conservation value of territories using our multi-index approach plus an a posteriori hierarchical classification methodology reveals two major interests: (i) a possible geographical extension and (ii) a multi-taxa adaptation

Optimization of Spot Welding of An Assembly Like B-pillar of a Car For Minimum Distortion, By Sequencing Technique

The aim of this paper is to achieve optimisation of spot welding sequence to minimise the distortion of a sheet metal assembly. The distortion of the assembly involving number of spot welds is different for different sequences of welding The assembly consists of sheet metal components which are joined by using various welding sequence schemes. The components are manufactured in quantity and welding with various sequences. After welding the distortions in an assembly due to welding sequence change are worked out and compaired. The sequence with minimum distortion is suggested a solution for the quality manufacturing with minimum distortion induced in it

Correlation of diagnostic efficacy of unhealthy cervix by cytology, colposcopy and histopathology in women of rural areas

Background: The objective was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of pap smear and colposcopy and to study the socio demographic parameters of women with unhealthy cervix. Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted from August 2011 – August 2013 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Pap smear was performed by the conventional method and colposcopy was done for all 200 sexually active women who came with complaints of discharge per vagina, inter menstrual or post coital bleeding. Colposcopy results were analysed. Final correlation of pap smear and colposcopy were based on histopathology.Results: There were 200 samples that were suitable for statistical analysis. The sensitivity of colposcopy was 79.37%, specificity 81.02%, positive predictive value 65.79%, negative predictive value 89.52% respectively and accuracy was 80.5%. Pap smear had a sensitivity of 25.4%, specificity of 99.27%, positive predictive value of 94.12%, negative predictive value of 74.32%, and accuracy of 76.0% respectively.Conclusions: Pap smear had a poorer sensitivity compared to Colposcopy but a better specificity than colposcopy. Hence it may be better to utilise both tests as they complement each other in screening of premalignant lesions of cervix