The Eleventh and Twelfth Data Releases of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Final Data from SDSS-III

The third generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) took data from 2008 to 2014 using the original SDSS wide-field imager, the original and an upgraded multi-object fiber-fed optical spectrograph, a new near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph, and a novel optical interferometer. All of the data from SDSS-III are now made public. In particular, this paper describes Data Release 11 (DR11) including all data acquired through 2013 July, and Data Release 12 (DR12) adding data acquired through 2014 July (including all data included in previous data releases), marking the end of SDSS-III observing. Relative to our previous public release (DR10), DR12 adds one million new spectra of galaxies and quasars from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) over an additional 3000 deg2 of sky, more than triples the number of H-band spectra of stars as part of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), and includes repeated accurate radial velocity measurements of 5500 stars from the Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey (MARVELS). The APOGEE outputs now include the measured abundances of 15 different elements for each star. In total, SDSS-III added 5200 deg2 of ugriz imaging; 155,520 spectra of 138,099 stars as part of the Sloan Exploration of Galactic Understanding and Evolution 2 (SEGUE-2) survey; 2,497,484 BOSS spectra of 1,372,737 galaxies, 294,512 quasars, and 247,216 stars over 9376 deg2; 618,080 APOGEE spectra of 156,593 stars; and 197,040 MARVELS spectra of 5513 stars. Since its first light in 1998, SDSS has imaged over 1/3 of the Celestial sphere in five bands and obtained over five million astronomical spectra. \ua9 2015. The American Astronomical Society

Design and construction of a probe positioning system for pulsed plasma thruster diagnostics

In order to make advancements in the area of propulsion, it is necessary to study the capabilities of current technology. One type of spacecraft propulsion system currently under development is the pulsed plasma thruster (PPT). The goal of this project is to design and fabricate a computer controlled two-axis probe positioning system which can be used to investigate the plume of a PPT operating in a vacuum chamber. The effort was divided into three areas: (1) vacuum chamber refurbishment, (2) mechanical and electrical design of the probe positioning system (PPS), and (3) thermal modeling of the PPT support during thruster operation

Humanity and space.

This project considered the motivation for human exploration and colonization of space. We first examined the role that space has played throughout history, followed by a look into the direct benefits to humanity that have resulted from the space industry, mainly health and technological advancements. Finally we investigated prospects for the future of space exploration including advanced propulsion systems, potential colonization locations, and the new Space Initiative recently set forth by President Bush

Thigh-length compression stockings and DVT after stroke

Controversy exists as to whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in patients with invasive bladder cancer, despite randomised controlled trials of more than 3000 patients. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of such treatment on survival in patients with this disease

Wide-field Precision Kinematics of the M87 Globular Cluster System

We present the most extensive combined photometric and spectroscopic study to date of the enormous globular cluster (GC) system around M87, the central giant elliptical galaxy in the nearby Virgo Cluster. Using observations from DEIMOS and the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer at Keck, and Hectospec on the Multiple Mirror Telescope, we derive new, precise radial velocities for 451 GCs around M87, with projected radii from ~5 to 185 kpc. We combine these measurements with literature data for a total sample of 737 objects, which we use for a re-examination of the kinematics of the GC system of M87. The velocities are analyzed in the context of archival wide-field photometry and a novel Hubble Space Telescope catalog of half-light radii, which includes sizes for 344 spectroscopically confirmed clusters. We use this unique catalog to identify 18 new candidate ultracompact dwarfs and to help clarify the relationship between these objects and true GCs. We find much lower values for the outer velocity dispersion and rotation of the GC system than in earlier papers and also differ from previous work in seeing no evidence for a transition in the inner halo to a potential dominated by the Virgo Cluster, nor for a truncation of the stellar halo. We find little kinematical evidence for an intergalactic GC population. Aided by the precision of the new velocity measurements, we see significant evidence for kinematical substructure over a wide range of radii, indicating that M87 is in active assembly. A simple, scale-free analysis finds less dark matter within ~85 kpc than in other recent work, reducing the tension between X-ray and optical results. In general, out to a projected radius of ~150 kpc, our data are consistent with the notion that M87 is not dynamically coupled to the Virgo Cluster; the core of Virgo may be in the earliest stages of assembly

Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12

Data Release 12 (DR12) is the final data release of the SDSS-III, containing all SDSS observations through July 2014. It includes the complete dataset of the BOSS and APOGEE surveys, and also newly includes stellar radial velocity measurements from MARVELS

Azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatory actions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients were randomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once per day by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatment groups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment and were twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants and local study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to the outcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treat population. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936. Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) were eligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was 65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomly allocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall, 561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days (rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median 10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days (rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, no significant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilation or death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24). Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or other prespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restricted to patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication. Funding UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research