On the mechanism of the shape elongation of embedded nanoparticles

The mechanism of the shape elongation of metal nanoparticles (NPs) in silica, which is induced under swift heavy ion irradiation, is discussed with comparing the two candidates: (i) the synergy between the ion hammering and the transient melting of NPs by the inelastic thermal spike and (ii) the thermal pressure and flow model. We show that three experimental results are inconsistent with (i). The latter is supported by two-temperature molecular dynamics simulations, which simulate not only the atomic motions but also the local electron temperatures. A remarkable correlation was observed between the temporal evolution of the silica density around the ion trajectory and that of the aspect ratio of the NP later than similar to 1 ps after the ion impact, while no correlation was observed earlier than similar to 1 ps, even under the assumption of the instantaneous energy deposition.Peer reviewe

Nanoscale density variations induced by high energy heavy ions in amorphous silicon nitride and silicon dioxide

The cylindrical nanoscale density variations resulting from the interaction of 185 MeV and 2.2 GeV Au ions with 1.0 mu m thick amorphous SiNx:H and SiOx:H layers are determined using small angle x-ray scattering measurements. The resulting density profiles resembles an under-dense core surrounded by an over-dense shell with a smooth transition between the two regions, consistent with molecular-dynamics simulations. For amorphous SiNx:H, the density variations show a radius of 4.2 nm with a relative density change three times larger than the value determined for amorphous SiOx:H, with a radius of 5.5 nm. Complementary infrared spectroscopy measurements exhibit a damage cross-section comparable to the core dimensions. The morphology of the density variations results from freezing in the local viscous flow arising from the non-uniform temperature profile in the radial direction of the ion path. The concomitant drop in viscosity mediated by the thermal conductivity appears to be the main driving force rather than the presence of a density anomaly.Peer reviewe

BMP8B increases brown adipose tissue thermogenesis through both central and peripheral actions

Thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) is fundamental to energy balance and is also relevant for humans. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) regulate adipogenesis, and, here, we describe a role for BMP8B in the direct regulation of thermogenesis. BMP8B is induced by nutritional and thermogenic factors in mature BAT, increasing the response to noradrenaline through enhanced p38MAPK/CREB signaling and increased lipase activity. Bmp8b(-/-) mice exhibit impaired thermogenesis and reduced metabolic rate, causing weight gain despite hypophagia. BMP8B is also expressed in the hypothalamus, and Bmp8b(-/-) mice display altered neuropeptide levels and reduced phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), indicating an anorexigenic state. Central BMP8B treatment increased sympathetic activation of BAT, dependent on the status of AMPK in key hypothalamic nuclei. Our results indicate that BMP8B is a thermogenic protein that regulates energy balance in partnership with hypothalamic AMPK. BMP8B may offer a mechanism to specifically increase energy dissipation by BAT

The welfare of water buffaloes during the slaughter process: a review

This paper reviews the scientific literature on water buffalo welfare in all stages of the live animal supply chain from the farm gate to slaughter (loading/unloading, markets, transportation, handling, lairage, stunning and slaughter) with the objective of identifying risk factors and potential mitigation strategies. Although in some countries legislation exists to protect the welfare of farm animals during transport and killing, the handling practices used to load and unload buffaloes and move them in livestock markets and abattoirs are often harsh. This is frequently due to inadequate equipment designed principally for cattle, and the fact that water buffaloes are considered more temperamental than cattle. Additionally, more reactive animals have increased stress responses to handling, which can lead to more negative human interventions with increased numbers of skin lesions and bruises to the carcasses. During transport, buffaloes may suffer periods of thermal stress due to overstocking, inadequate ventilation and because in many tropical climates trips are made during the hottest time of the day. The anatomical and physiological characteristics of water buffalo make them particularly susceptible to thermal stress in the absence of water for wallowing. Although water buffaloes belong to the same Bovidae family as domestic cattle, certain anatomical features of the head make effective stunning very problematic. Buffaloes have extensive sinuses and frontal bones, meaning that the penetrating captive bolt devices recommended for cattle may prove ineffective in reliably inducing unconsciousness. There is a need for further development of procedures, stunning positions and appropriate devices to improve the efficiency of buffalo stunning. Finally, in many parts of the world where buffalo are routinely slaughtered in basic conditions without prior stunning. Slaughter without stunning can result in pain and stress associated with delays in the time to loss of consciousness, pain from the cutting of the neck and potential distress associated with aspiration of blood into the respiratory tract. Specific legislation, guidelines and handler/stockman/operator training programmes should be developed to improve the welfare of buffaloes during all ante mortem stages of loading, unloading, handling, stunning and slaughter

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

Modelling the Tucana III stream - a close passage with the LMC

We present results of the first dynamical stream fits to the recently discovered Tucana III stream. These fits assume a fixed Milky Way potential and give proper motion predictions, which can be tested with the upcoming Gaia Data Release 2. These fits reveal that Tucana III is on an eccentric orbit around the Milky Way and, more interestingly, that Tucana III passed within 15 kpc of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) approximately 75 Myr ago. Given this close passage, we fit the Tucana III stream in the combined presence of the Milky Way and the LMC. We find that the predicted proper motions depend on the assumed mass of the LMC and that the LMC can induce a substantial proper motion perpendicular to the stream track. A detection of this misalignment will directly probe the extent of the LMC’s influence on our Galaxy, and has implications for nearly all methods which attempt to constraint the Milky Way potential. Such a measurement will be possible with the upcoming Gaia DR2, allowing for a measurement of the LMC’s mass

Search for RR lyrae stars in DES ultrafaint systems: grus I, kim 2, phoenix II, and grus

FINEP - FINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOSFAPERJ - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIROCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOMCTIC - MINISTÉRIO DA CIÊNCIA, TECNOLOGIA, INOVAÇÕES E COMUNICAÇÕESThis work presents the first search for RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) in four he ultrafaint systems imaged by the Dark Energy Survey using SOAR/Goodman and Blanco/DECam imagers, We have detected two RRLs in the field of Grus I, none in Kim 2, one in Phoenix II, and four in Grus II. With the detection of these stars, we accurately determine the distance moduli for these ultrafaint dwarf satellite galaxies; mu(0) = 20.51 +/- 0.10 mag (D-circle dot = 127 +/- 6 kpc) for Grus I and mu(0) = 20.01 +/- 0.10 mag (D-circle dot = 100 +/- 5 kpc) for Phoenix IL These measurements are larger than previous estimations by Koposov et al. and Bechtol et al., implying larger physical sizes; S per cent for Grus I and 33 per cent for Phoenix II. For Grus II, of the four RRLs detected, one is consistent with being a member of the galactic halo (D-circle dot = 24 +/- 1 kpc, mu(0) = 16.86 +/- 0.10 mag), another is at D-circle dot = 55 +/- 2 kpc (mu(0) = 18.71 +/- 0.10 mag), which we associate with Grus II, and the two remaining at D-circle dot = 43 +/- 2 kpc (mu(0) = 18.17 +/- 0.10 mag). Moreover, the appearance of a subtle red horizontal branch in the colour magnitude diagram of Grus II at the same brightness level of the latter two RRLs, which are at the same distance and in the same region, suggests that a more metal-rich system may be located in front of Grus II. The most plausible scenario is the association of these stars with the Chenab/Orphan Stream. Finally, we performed a comprehensive and updated analysis of the number of RRLs in dwarf galaxies. This allows us to predict that the method of finding new ultrafaint dwarf galaxies using two or more clumped RRLs will work only for systems brighter than M-V similar to 6 mag.490221832199FINEP - FINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOSFAPERJ - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIROCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOMCTIC - MINISTÉRIO DA CIÊNCIA, TECNOLOGIA, INOVAÇÕES E COMUNICAÇÕESFINEP - FINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOSFAPERJ - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIROCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOMCTIC - MINISTÉRIO DA CIÊNCIA, TECNOLOGIA, INOVAÇÕES E COMUNICAÇÕESSem informaçãoSem informação465376/2014-2Sem informaçãoWe thank the anonymous referee for the useful comments that helped to improve the manuscript. CEMV thanks M. Monelli for photometry advices and helpful conversations. RH is partially supported by NASA grant NNH15ZDA001N-WFIRST. Based on observations obtained at the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope (NOAO Prop. ID 2016A-0196; PI: Vivas), which is a joint project of the Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia, Inovacoes e Comunicacoes (MCTIC) do Brasil, the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and Michigan State University (MSU). Based on observations at CTIO, National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO Prop. ID: 2016A-0196, PI: Vivas; NOAO Prop. ID 2012B-0001; PI: J. Frieman), which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). Funding for the DES Projects has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Ministry of Science and Education of Spain, the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, the Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics at the Ohio State University, the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University, FINEP - FINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOS, Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico and the Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia e Inovacao, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Collaborating Institutions in the DES. The Collaborating Institutions are Argonne National Laboratory, the University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Cambridge, Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas-Madrid, the University of Chicago, University College London, the DES-Brazil Consortium, the University of Edinburgh, the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Institut de Ciencies de l'Espai (IEEC/CSIC), the Institut de Fisica d'Altes Energies, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Ludwig-Maximilians Universitat Munchen and the associated Excellence Cluster Universe, the University of Michigan, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, the University of Nottingham, The Ohio State University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Portsmouth, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, the University of Sussex, Texas A&M University, and the OzDES Membership Consortium. The DES data management system is supported by the National Science Foundation under grants AST-1138766 and AST-1536171. The DES participants from Spanish institutions are partially supported by MINECO under grants AYA2015-71825, ESP2015-66861, FPA2015-68048, SEV-2016-0588, SEV-2016-0597, and MDM-2015-0509, some of which include ERDF funds from the European Union. Institut de Fisica d'Altes Energies (IFAE) is partially funded by the CERCA program of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) including ERC grants 240672, 291329, and 306478. We acknowledge support from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), through project number CE110001020, and the Brazilian Instituto Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia (INCT) e-Universe (CNPq grant 465376/2014-2). This manuscript has been authored by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 with the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes

Identification of Galaxy-Galaxy Strong Lens Candidates in the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey Using Machine Learning

We perform a search for galaxy-galaxy strong lens systems using a convolutional neural network (CNN) applied to imaging data from the first public data release of the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey, which contains 1/4520 million astronomical sources covering 1/44000 deg2 of the southern sky to a 5σ point-source depth of g = 24.3, r = 23.9, i = 23.3, and z = 22.8 mag. Following the methodology of similar searches using Dark Energy Camera data, we apply color and magnitude cuts to select a catalog of 1/411 million extended astronomical sources. After scoring with our CNN, the highest-scoring 50,000 images were visually inspected and assigned a score on a scale from 0 (not a lens) to 3 (very probable lens). We present a list of 581 strong lens candidates, 562 of which are previously unreported. We categorize our candidates using their human-assigned scores, resulting in 55 Grade A candidates, 149 Grade B candidates, and 377 Grade C candidates. We additionally highlight eight potential quadruply lensed quasars from this sample. Due to the location of our search footprint in the northern Galactic cap (b > 10 deg) and southern celestial hemisphere (decl. < 0 deg), our candidate list has little overlap with other existing ground-based searches. Where our search footprint does overlap with other searches, we find a significant number of high-quality candidates that were previously unidentified, indicating a degree of orthogonality in our methodology. We report properties of our candidates including apparent magnitude and Einstein radius estimated from the image separation

Loss of the interferon-γ-inducible regulatory immunity-related GTPase (IRG), Irgm1, causes activation of effector IRG proteins on lysosomes, damaging lysosomal function and predicting the dramatic susceptibility of Irgm1-deficient mice to infection

The interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-inducible immunity-related GTPase (IRG), Irgm1, plays an essential role in restraining activation of the IRG pathogen resistance system. However, the loss of Irgm1 in mice also causes a dramatic but unexplained susceptibility phenotype upon infection with a variety of pathogens, including many not normally controlled by the IRG system. This phenotype is associated with lymphopenia, hemopoietic collapse, and death of the mouse.Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD); International Graduate School in Development Health and Disease (IGS-DHD); Deutsche For-schungsgemeinschaft (SFBs 635, 670, 680); Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Max Planck Fellowship)