GSC 2314-0530: the shortest-period eclipsing system with dMe components

CCD photometric observations in VRI colors and spectroscopic observations of the newly discovered eclipsing binary GSC 2314-0530 (NSVS 6550671) with dMe components and very short period of P=0.192636 days are presented. The simultaneous light-curve solution and radial velocity solution allows to determine the global parameters of GSC 2314-0530: T_{1}=3735 K; T_{2}=3106 K; M_{1}=0.51 M_sun; M_{2}=0.26 M_sun; R_{1}=0.55 R_sun; R_{2}=0.29 R_sun; L_{1}=0.053 L_sun; L_{2}=0.007 L_sun; i=72.5 degr; a=1.28 R_sun; d=59 pc. The chromospheric activity of its components is revealed by strong emission in the H_alpha line (with mean EW=5 A) and observed several flares. Empirical relations mass-M_{bol}, mass-radius and mass-temperature are derived on the basis of the parameters of known binaries with low-mass dM components.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS (accepted

Potensi keanekaragaman vegetasi pohon untuk konservasi air di desa Kolobolon, kecamatan Lobalain, Rote Ndao, Nusa Tenggara Timur

Rote Ndao merupakan daerah lahan kering dan beriklim kering yang sering mengalami permasalahan ketersediaan air. Minimnya vegetasi di permukaan akan berpengaruh terhadap rendahnya simpanan air dan memperparah bencana kekeringan. Masyarakat membangun embung dan sistem panen air sebagai solusi jangka pendek terhadap masalah kekeringan. Diperlukan solusi jangka panjang atas permasalahan ketersediaan air tersebut Konservasi air menggunakan tumbuhan merupakan solusi jangka panjang terhadap kekeringan. Desa Kolobolon yang berada di bagian selatan Kabupaten Rote Ndao berpotensi mengalami bencana kekeringan. Penting dilakukan inventarisasi keanekaragaman vegetasi pohon yang berpotensi dalam konservasi air. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui keanekaragaman vegetasi pohon di Desa Kolobolon, Kecamatan Lobalain, Rote Ndao, Nusa Tenggara Timur. Penelitian dilakukan dengan survei, sampling dan identifikasi spesies pada wilayah dengan tutupan lahan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 27 spesies vegetasi pohon dari 16 famili. Jumlah spesies vegetasi pohon didominasi oleh famili Moraceae dan Fabaceae yang berpotensi untuk konservasi air, kecuali Acacia nilotica dari famili Fabaceae yang bersifat invasif

Steering Operational Synergies in Terrestrial Observation Networks: Opportunity for Advancing Earth System Dynamics Modelling

Advancing our understanding of Earth system dynamics (ESD) depends on the development of models and other analytical tools that apply physical, biological, and chemical data. This ambition to increase understanding and develop models of ESD based on site observations was the stimulus for creating the networks of Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER), Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs), and others. We organized a survey, the results of which identified pressing gaps in data availability from these networks, in particular for the future development and evaluation of models that represent ESD processes, and provide insights for improvement in both data collection and model integration. From this survey overview of data applications in the context of LTER and CZO research, we identified three challenges: (1) widen application of terrestrial observation network data in Earth system modelling, (2) develop integrated Earth system models that incorporate process representation and data of multiple disciplines, and (3) identify complementarity in measured variables and spatial extent, and promoting synergies in the existing observational networks. These challenges lead to perspectives and recommendations for an improved dialogue between the observation networks and the ESD modelling community, including co-location of sites in the existing networks and further formalizing these recommendations among these communities. Developing these synergies will enable cross-site and cross-network comparison and synthesis studies, which will help produce insights around organizing principles, classifications, and general rules of coupling processes with environmental conditions

Understanding teacher design practices for digital inquiry–based science learning: the case of Go-Lab

Designing and implementing online or digital learning material is a demanding task for teachers. This is even more the case when this material is used for more engaged forms of learning, such as inquiry learning. In this article, we give an informed account of Go-Lab, an ecosystem that supports teachers in creating Inquiry Learning Spaces (ILSs). These ILSs are built around STEM–related online laboratories. Within the Go-Lab ecosystem, teachers can combine these online laboratories with multimedia material and learning apps, which are small applications that support learners in their inquiry learning process. The Go-Lab ecosystem offers teachers ready–made structures, such as a standard inquiry cycle, alternative scenarios or complete ILSs that can be used as they are, but it also allows teachers to configure these structures to create personalized ILSs. For this article, we analyzed data on the design process and structure of 2414 ILSs that were (co)created by teachers and that our usage data suggest have been used in classrooms. Our data show that teachers prefer to start their design from empty templates instead of more domain–related elements, that the makeup of the design team (a single teacher, a group of collaborating teachers, or a mix of teachers and project members) influences key design process characteristics such as time spent designing the ILS and number of actions involved, that the characteristics of the resulting ILSs also depend on the type of design team and that ILSs that are openly shared (i.e., published in a public repository) have different characteristics than those that are kept private.</p

The association between frailty and MRI features of cerebral small vessel disease

Abstract: Frailty is a common syndrome in older individuals that is associated with poor cognitive outcome. The underlying brain correlates of frailty are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between frailty and MRI features of cerebral small vessel disease in a group of non-demented older individuals. We included 170 participants who were classified as frail (n = 30), pre-frail (n = 85) or non-frail (n = 55). The association of frailty and white matter hyperintensity volume and shape features, lacunar infarcts and cerebral perfusion was investigated by regression analyses adjusted for age and sex. Frail and pre-frail participants were older, more often female and showed higher white matter hyperintensity volume (0.69 [95%-CI 0.08 to 1.31], p = 0.03 respectively 0.43 [95%-CI: 0.04 to 0.82], p = 0.03) compared to non-frail participants. Frail participants showed a non-significant trend, and pre-frail participants showed a more complex shape of white matter hyperintensities (concavity index: 0.04 [95%-CI: 0.03 to 0.08], p = 0.03; fractal dimensions: 0.07 [95%-CI: 0.00 to 0.15], p = 0.05) compared to non-frail participants. No between group differences were found in gray matter perfusion or in the presence of lacunar infarcts. In conclusion, increased white matter hyperintensity volume and a more complex white matter hyperintensity shape may be structural brain correlates of the frailty phenotype

Patterns of Spatial Variation of Assemblages Associated with Intertidal Rocky Shores: A Global Perspective

Assemblages associated with intertidal rocky shores were examined for large scale distribution patterns with specific emphasis on identifying latitudinal trends of species richness and taxonomic distinctiveness. Seventy-two sites distributed around the globe were evaluated following the standardized sampling protocol of the Census of Marine Life NaGISA project (www.nagisa.coml.org). There were no clear patterns of standardized estimators of species richness along latitudinal gradients or among Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs); however, a strong latitudinal gradient in taxonomic composition (i.e., proportion of different taxonomic groups in a given sample) was observed. Environmental variables related to natural influences were strongly related to the distribution patterns of the assemblages on the LME scale, particularly photoperiod, sea surface temperature (SST) and rainfall. In contrast, no environmental variables directly associated with human influences (with the exception of the inorganic pollution index) were related to assemblage patterns among LMEs. Correlations of the natural assemblages with either latitudinal gradients or environmental variables were equally strong suggesting that neither neutral models nor models based solely on environmental variables sufficiently explain spatial variation of these assemblages at a global scale. Despite the data shortcomings in this study (e.g., unbalanced sample distribution), we show the importance of generating biological global databases for the use in large-scale diversity comparisons of rocky intertidal assemblages to stimulate continued sampling and analyses