Dusty star forming galaxies at high redshift

The global star formation rate in high redshift galaxies, based on optical surveys, shows a strong peak at a redshift of z=1.5, which implies that we have already seen most of the formation. High redshift galaxies may, however, emit most of their energy at submillimeter wavelengths if they contain substantial amounts of dust. The dust would absorb the starlight and reradiate it as far-infrared light, which would be redshifted to the submillimeter range. Here we report a deep survey of two blank regions of sky performed at submillimeter wavelengths (450 and 850-micron). If the sources we detect in the 850-micron band are powered by star formation, then each must be converting more than 100 solar masses of gas per year into stars, which is larger than the maximum star formation rates inferred for most optically-selected galaxies. The total amount of high redshift star formation is essentially fixed by the level of background light, but where the peak occurs in redshift for the submillimeter is not yet established. However, the background light contribution from only the sources detected at 850-micron is already comparable to that from the optically-selected sources. Establishing the main epoch of star formation will therefore require a combination of optical and submillimeter studies.Comment: 10 pages + 2 Postscript figures, under embargo at Natur

Optical Identification of Infrared Space Observatory Far-Infrared Sources in the Lockman Hole Using a Deep Very Large Array 1.4 GHz Continuum Survey

By exploiting the far-infrared (FIR) and radio correlation, we have performed a likelihood-ratio analysis to identify optical counterparts to the FIR sources that have been found in an area of ~0.9 deg2 during the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) deep FIR survey in the Lockman Hole. New ground-based observations have been conducted to build up the catalogs of radio and optical objects, which include a deep Very Large Array (VLA) observation at 1.4 GHz, optical R- and I-band imaging with the Subaru 8 m and University of Hawaii 2.2 m telescopes, and optical spectroscopy with the Keck II 10 m and WIYN 3.5 m telescopes. This work is based on FIR samples consisting of 116 and 20 sources selected with the criteria of FC(90 μm) ≥ 43 mJy and FC(170 μm) ≥ 102 mJy, respectively, where FC is the bias-corrected flux. Using the likelihood ratio analysis and the associated reliability, 44 FIR sources have been identified with radio sources. Optical confirmation of the 44 FIR/radio associations was then conducted using accurate radio positions. Redshifts have been obtained for 29 out of the 44 identified sources. One hyperluminous infrared galaxy (HyLIRG) with LFIR \u3e 1013 L and four ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) with LFIR = 1012–1013 L are identified in our sample, while the remaining 24 FIR galaxies have LFIR \u3c 1012 L. The space density of the FIR sources at z = 0.3–0.6 is 4.6 × 10-5 Mpc-3, which is 460 times larger than the local value, implying a rapid evolution of the ULIRG population. Most ISO FIR sources have L(1.4 GHz)/L(90 μm) similar to the star-forming galaxies Arp 220 and M82, indicating that star formation is the dominant mechanism for their FIR and radio luminosity. At least seven of our FIR sources show evidence for the presence of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) in optical emission lines, radio continuum excess, or X-ray activity. Three out of five (60%) of the ULIRGs/HyLIRGs are AGN galaxies, suggesting that the AGN fraction among the ULIRG/HyLIRG population may not change significantly between z ~ 0.5 and the present epoch. Five of the seven AGN galaxies are within the ROSAT X-ray survey field, and two are within the XMM-Newton survey fields. X-ray emission has been detected in only one source, 1EX030, which is optically classified as a quasar. The nondetection in the XMM-Newton 2–10 keV band suggests a very thick absorption column density of 3 × 1024 cm-2 or AV ~ 1200 mag obscuring the central source of the two AGN galaxies. Several sources have an extreme FIR luminosity relative to the optical R band, L(90 μm)/L(R) \u3e 500, which is rare even among the local ULIRG population. While source confusion or blending might offer an explanation in some cases, these observations may represent a new population of galaxies with an extreme amount of star formation in an undeveloped stellar system, i.e., formation of bulges or young elliptical galaxies

Implications of alternative definitions of prediabetes for prevalence in US adults

OBJECTIVE—To compare the prevalence of prediabetes using A1C, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) criteria, and to examine the degree of agreement between the measures. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We used the 2005–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to classify 3,627 adults aged $18 years without diabetes according to their prediabetes status using A1C, FPG, and OGTT. We compared the prevalence of prediabetes according to different measures and used conditional probabilities to examine agreement between measures. RESULTS—In 2005–2008, the crude prevalence of prediabetes in adults aged$18 years was 14.2% for A1C 5.7–6.4% (A1C5.7), 26.2% for FPG 100–125 mg/dL (IFG100), 7.0% for FPG 110–125 mg/dL (IFG110), and 13.7% for OGTT 140–199 mg/dL (IGT). Prediabetes prevalence varied by age, sex, and race/ethnicity, and there was considerable discordance between measures of prediabetes. Among those with IGT, 58.2, 23.4, and 32.3% had IFG100, IFG110, and A1C5.7, respectively, and 67.1% had the combination of either A1C5.7 or IFG100. CONCLUSIONS—The prevalence of prediabetes varied by the indicator used to measure risk; there was considerable discordance between indicators and the characteristics of individuals with prediabetes. Programs to prevent diabetes may need to consider issues of equity, resources, need, and efficiency in targeting their efforts

The Nature of the faint far-infrared extragalactic source population: Optical/NIR and radio follow-up observations of ISOPHOT deep-field sources using Keck, Subaru, and VLA telescopes

We report on optical and near-infrared (NIR) follow-up spectroscopy of faint far-infrared (FIR) sources found in our deep FIR survey by Kawara et al.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the proceedings of "AGN Surveys" (IAU Colloquium 184

The Galaxy Structure-Redshift Relationship

There exists a gradual, but persistent, evolutionary effect in the galaxy population such that galaxy structure and morphology change with redshift. This galaxy structure-redshift relationship is such that an increasingly large fraction of all bright and massive galaxies at redshifts 2 < z < 3 are morphologically peculiar at wavelengths from rest-frame ultraviolet to rest-frame optical. There are however examples of morphologically selected spirals and ellipticals at all redshifts up to z ~ 3. At lower redshift, the bright galaxy population smoothly transforms into normal ellipticals and spirals. The rate of this transformation strongly depends on redshift, with the swiftest evolution occurring between 1 < z < 2. This review characterizes the galaxy structure-redshift relationship, discusses its various physical causes, and how these are revealing the mechanisms responsible for galaxy formation.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. Invited Review to appear in "Penetrating Bars Through Masks of Cosmic Dust: The Hubble Tuning Fork Strikes A New Note", ed. D. Block et a

When Is Visual Information Used to Control Locomotion When Descending a Kerb?

YesBackground: Descending kerbs during locomotion involves the regulation of appropriate foot placement before the kerb-edge and foot clearance over it. It also involves the modulation of gait output to ensure the body-mass is safely and smoothly lowered to the new level. Previous research has shown that vision is used in such adaptive gait tasks for feedforward planning, with vision from the lower visual field (lvf) used for online updating. The present study determined when lvf information is used to control/update locomotion when stepping from a kerb. Methodology/Principal Findings: 12 young adults stepped down a kerb during ongoing gait. Force sensitive resistors (attached to participants' feet) interfaced with an high-speed PDLC 'smart glass' sheet, allowed the lvf to be unpredictably occluded at either heel-contact of the penultimate or final step before the kerb-edge up to contact with the lower level. Analysis focussed on determining changes in foot placement distance before the kerb-edge, clearance over it, and in kinematic measures of the step down. Lvf occlusion from the instant of final step contact had no significant effect on any dependant variable (p>0.09). Occlusion of the lvf from the instant of penultimate step contact had a significant effect on foot clearance and on several kinematic measures, with findings consistent with participants becoming uncertain regarding relative horizontal location of the kerb-edge. Conclusion/Significance: These findings suggest concurrent feedback of the lower limb, kerb-edge, and/or floor area immediately in front/below the kerb is not used when stepping from a kerb during ongoing gait. Instead heel-clearance and pre-landing-kinematic parameters are determined/planned using lvf information acquired in the penultimate step during the approach to the kerb-edge, with information related to foot placement before the kerb-edge being the most salient

A protein functionalization platform based on selective reactions at methionine residues.

Nature has a remarkable ability to carry out site-selective post-translational modification of proteins, therefore enabling a marked increase in their functional diversity1. Inspired by this, chemical tools have been developed for the synthetic manipulation of protein structure and function, and have become essential to the continued advancement of chemical biology, molecular biology and medicine. However, the number of chemical transformations that are suitable for effective protein functionalization is limited, because the stringent demands inherent to biological systems preclude the applicability of many potential processes2. These chemical transformations often need to be selective at a single site on a protein, proceed with very fast reaction rates, operate under biologically ambient conditions and should provide homogeneous products with near-perfect conversion2-7. Although many bioconjugation methods exist at cysteine, lysine and tyrosine, a method targeting a less-explored amino acid would considerably expand the protein functionalization toolbox. Here we report the development of a multifaceted approach to protein functionalization based on chemoselective labelling at methionine residues. By exploiting the electrophilic reactivity of a bespoke hypervalent iodine reagent, the S-Me group in the side chain of methionine can be targeted. The bioconjugation reaction is fast, selective, operates at low-micromolar concentrations and is complementary to existing bioconjugation strategies. Moreover, it produces a protein conjugate that is itself a high-energy intermediate with reactive properties and can serve as a platform for the development of secondary, visible-light-mediated bioorthogonal protein functionalization processes. The merger of these approaches provides a versatile platform for the development of distinct transformations that deliver information-rich protein conjugates directly from the native biomacromolecules

The global burden of viral hepatitis from 1990 to 2013: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

BACKGROUND: With recent improvements in vaccines and treatments against viral hepatitis, an improved understanding of the burden of viral hepatitis is needed to inform global intervention strategies. We used data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study to estimate morbidity and mortality for acute viral hepatitis, and for cirrhosis and liver cancer caused by viral hepatitis, by age, sex, and country from 1990 to 2013. METHODS: We estimated mortality using natural history models for acute hepatitis infections and GBD's cause-of-death ensemble model for cirrhosis and liver cancer. We used meta-regression to estimate total cirrhosis and total liver cancer prevalence, as well as the proportion of cirrhosis and liver cancer attributable to each cause. We then estimated cause-specific prevalence as the product of the total prevalence and the proportion attributable to a specific cause. Disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) were calculated as the sum of years of life lost (YLLs) and years lived with disability (YLDs). FINDINGS: Between 1990 and 2013, global viral hepatitis deaths increased from 0·89 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 0·86–0·94) to 1·45 million (1·38–1·54); YLLs from 31·0 million (29·6–32·6) to 41·6 million (39·1–44·7); YLDs from 0·65 million (0·45–0·89) to 0·87 million (0·61–1·18); and DALYs from 31·7 million (30·2–33·3) to 42·5 million (39·9–45·6). In 2013, viral hepatitis was the seventh (95% UI seventh to eighth) leading cause of death worldwide, compared with tenth (tenth to 12th) in 1990. INTERPRETATION: Viral hepatitis is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Unlike most communicable diseases, the absolute burden and relative rank of viral hepatitis increased between 1990 and 2013. The enormous health loss attributable to viral hepatitis, and the availability of effective vaccines and treatments, suggests an important opportunity to improve public health. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Prevalence and Psychopathological Correlates of Sibling Bullying in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Using data from a prospective population based study, the prevalence and psychopathological correlates of sibling bullying in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were estimated. There were 475 children with ASD and 13,702 children without ASD aged 11 years. Children with ASD were more likely to be bullied by their siblings compared to those without ASD. They were also more likely than those without ASD to both bully and be bullied by their siblings, which was associated with lower prosocial skills as well as more internalizing and externalizing problems compared to those not involved in any sibling bullying. Interventions to improve social and emotional outcomes in children with ASD should focus on both the affected and the unaffected sibling

Reconciling global-model estimates and country reporting of anthropogenic forest CO2 sinks

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this recordData availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.Achieving the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement requires forest-based mitigation. Collective progress towards this goal will be assessed by the Paris Agreement’s Global stocktake. At present, there is a discrepancy of about 4 GtCO2yr−1in global anthropogenic net land-use emissions between global models (reflected in IPCC assessment reports) and aggregated national GHG inventories (under the UNFCCC). We show that a substantial part of this discrepancy (about 3.2 GtCO2yr−1) can be explained by conceptual differences in anthropogenic forest sink estimation, related to the representation of environmental change impacts and the areas considered as managed. For a more credible tracking of collective progress under the Global stocktake, these conceptual differences between models and inventories need to be reconciled. We implement a new method of disaggregation of global land model results that allows greater comparability with GHG inventories. This provides a deeper understanding of model–inventory differences, allowing more transparent analysis of forest-based mitigation and facilitating a more accurate Global stocktake.J.H. was supported by EU FP7 through project LUC4C (GA603542) and the UK NERC project GGRiLS-GAP. G.G. was supported by Administrative Arrangement Number 340203/2016/742550/SER/CLIMA.A3. A.K.J. was supported by the NSF (AGS 12-43071) and DOE (DE-SC0016323). J.E.M.S.N. was supported by the German Research Foundation’s Emmy Noether Programme (grant number PO1751/1-1). G.G., J.H., G.P.P. and L.P. received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 776810 (VERIFY). C.D.K. was supported by the US DOE under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 as part of their RGMA (BGC-Feedbacks SFA) and TES Programs (NGEE-Tropics). A.K.J. was supported under the US NSF (NSF-AGS-12-43071)