Seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile as a marine biomarker: A metabolomic and toxicological analysis

A human-made environmental disaster due to the shipwrecked of Costa Concordia cruise vessel on the Tuscan Island of Giglio (Italy) coast and the possible pollutants release has been feared, so requiring the activation of removal operations and the monitoring of the marine environment. In the present study, the seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile was used as a bioindicator for the impact of the Costa Concordia accident on the marine and coastal habitat. Different P. oceanica samples were collected in the shipwrecked site under different light conditions. Using high-performance thin-layer chromatography, metabolic analysis of the samples was carried out in order to highlight possible changes in the secondary metabolism due to the permanent shading and the presence of pollutant traces. Moreover, sample mutagenicity, as a consequence of the possible absorption of environmental toxicants leaked by the wreck, was assessed by the Ames test. The results highlighted the permanence of the Concordia-induced alteration in the plant secondary metabolites. However, absorption of chemical pollutants and carcinogens was not reported; this point was confirmed by the lack of mutagenic effects found for the samples tested. Our results clearly evidence that the environmental impact of Costa Concordia wreck and removal operations on P. oceanica was mainly due to the lack of light in the marine habitat. Present methodological approach, which combines metabolomic and genetic ecotoxicological analysis, could represent a suitable strategy to evaluate the impact of human disasters on the ecosystem and to monitor the environmental changes

3D super-resolution deep-tissue imaging in living mice.

Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy enables the three-dimensional (3D) visualization of dynamic nanoscale structures in living cells, offering unique insights into their organization. However, 3D-STED imaging deep inside biological tissue is obstructed by optical aberrations and light scattering. We present a STED system that overcomes these challenges. Through the combination of two-photon excitation, adaptive optics, red-emitting organic dyes, and a long-working-distance water-immersion objective lens, our system achieves aberration-corrected 3D super-resolution imaging, which we demonstrate 164 µm deep in fixed mouse brain tissue and 76 µm deep in the brain of a living mouse

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children with confirmed COVID-19 infection in a tertiary referral hospital in Manila, Philippines

Background: COVID-19 has challenged the under-resourced health systems of low- and middle-income countries, significantly affecting child health. Available published data on Filipino children with COVID-19 infection are limited. This study aims to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pediatric patients with confirmed COVID-19 in an infectious disease hospital in Manila, Philippines. Main text: This cross-sectional study reviewed data on patients ages 0 to 18 years with confirmed COVID-19 infection, admitted to San Lazaro Hospital from January 25, 2020 to January 25, 2022. Demographic data and clinical characteristics obtained from COVID-19 case investigation forms were summarized and compared between severe and non-severe cases. Risk factors for disease severity and mortality were analyzed. Of 115 patients, 64% were males. There were 87 patients (75.7%) with asymptomatic, mild, or moderate disease, and 28 cases (24.3%) with severe or critical illness. The median age of all patients was 10 years (interquartile range: 4–15 years). The majority of patients (40.9%) were adolescents ages 13 to 18 years. Predominant symptoms were fever (73.9%) and cough (55.7%). Patients with severe or critical illness were more likely to experience difficulty of breathing (55.2% vs 44.8%, p < 0.001), and have a longer hospital stay (11 days vs 8 days, p = 0.043). Among all patients, 48.7% had at least one underlying disease; and common infectious co-morbidities were tuberculosis (17.4%), dengue (12.2%), and HIV (4.3%). Having tuberculosis (p = 0.008) or at least one co-morbidity (p < 0.001) was associated with disease severity. Ten patients (8.7%) died; and mortality was higher among those with severe or critical illness (80% vs 20%, p < 0.001). Sepsis (p = 0.020) or having at least one co-morbidity (p = 0.007) was associated with death. Conclusion: Children of all ages remain susceptible to COVID-19 infection, and usually present with mild or moderate symptoms. In this study, many adolescents are affected, highlighting the value of COVID-19 vaccination in this age group. Understanding the clinical features of COVID-19 in Filipino children is essential to identifying and optimally managing those at highest risk of severe disease

Circuit-based interrogation of sleep control.

Sleep is a fundamental biological process observed widely in the animal kingdom, but the neural circuits generating sleep remain poorly understood. Understanding the brain mechanisms controlling sleep requires the identification of key neurons in the control circuits and mapping of their synaptic connections. Technical innovations over the past decade have greatly facilitated dissection of the sleep circuits. This has set the stage for understanding how a variety of environmental and physiological factors influence sleep. The ability to initiate and terminate sleep on command will also help us to elucidate its functions within and beyond the brain

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to &lt;90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], &gt;300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of &lt;15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P&lt;0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P&lt;0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Erratum: “Searches for Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars at Two Harmonics in 2015–2017 LIGO Data” (2019, ApJ, 879, 10)

Due to an error at the publisher, in the published article the number of pulsars presented in the paper is incorrect in multiple places throughout the text. Specifically, "222" pulsars should be "221." Additionally, the number of pulsars for which we have EM observations that fully overlap with O1 and O2 changes from "168" to "167." Elsewhere, in the machine-readable table of Table 1 and in Table 2, the row corresponding to pulsar J0952-0607 should be excised as well. Finally, in the caption for Table 2 the number of pulsars changes from "188" to "187.

Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 in the second Advanced LIGO observing run with an improved hidden Markov model

We present results from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to track spin wandering. This search improves on previous HMM-based searches of LIGO data by using an improved frequency domain matched filter, the J-statistic, and by analyzing data from Advanced LIGO's second observing run. In the frequency range searched, from 60 to 650 Hz, we find no evidence of gravitational radiation. At 194.6 Hz, the most sensitive search frequency, we report an upper limit on gravitational wave strain (at 95% confidence) of h095%=3.47×10-25 when marginalizing over source inclination angle. This is the most sensitive search for Scorpius X-1, to date, that is specifically designed to be robust in the presence of spin wandering. © 2019 American Physical Society

Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 in the second Advanced LIGO observing run with an improved hidden Markov model

We present results from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to track spin wandering. This search improves on previous HMM-based searches of LIGO data by using an improved frequency domain matched filter, the J-statistic, and by analyzing data from Advanced LIGO’s second observing run. In the frequency range searched, from 60 to 650 Hz, we find no evidence of gravitational radiation. At 194.6 Hz, the most sensitive search frequency, we report an upper limit on gravitational wave strain (at 95% confidence) of h95%0=3.47×10−25 when marginalizing over source inclination angle. This is the most sensitive search for Scorpius X-1, to date, that is specifically designed to be robust in the presence of spin wandering

The DUNE Far Detector Interim Design Report, Volume 3: Dual-Phase Module

The DUNE IDR describes the proposed physics program and technical designs of the DUNE far detector modules in preparation for the full TDR to be published in 2019. It is intended as an intermediate milestone on the path to a full TDR, justifying the technical choices that flow down from the high-level physics goals through requirements at all levels of the Project. These design choices will enable the DUNE experiment to make the ground-breaking discoveries that will help to answer fundamental physics questions. Volume 3 describes the dual-phase module's subsystems, the technical coordination required for its design, construction, installation, and integration, and its organizational structure

Properties and Astrophysical Implications of the 150 M_⊙ Binary Black Hole Merger GW190521

The gravitational-wave signal GW190521 is consistent with a binary black hole (BBH) merger source at redshift 0.8 with unusually high component masses, 85⁺²¹₋₁₄ M_⊙ and 66⁺¹⁷₋₁₈ M_⊙, compared to previously reported events, and shows mild evidence for spin-induced orbital precession. The primary falls in the mass gap predicted by (pulsational) pair-instability supernova theory, in the approximate range 65–120 M_⊙. The probability that at least one of the black holes in GW190521 is in that range is 99.0%. The final mass of the merger 142⁺²⁸₋₁₆ M_⊙) classifies it as an intermediate-mass black hole. Under the assumption of a quasi-circular BBH coalescence, we detail the physical properties of GW190521's source binary and its post-merger remnant, including component masses and spin vectors. Three different waveform models, as well as direct comparison to numerical solutions of general relativity, yield consistent estimates of these properties. Tests of strong-field general relativity targeting the merger-ringdown stages of the coalescence indicate consistency of the observed signal with theoretical predictions. We estimate the merger rate of similar systems to be 0.13_(-0.11)^(+0.30) Gpc⁻³ yr⁻¹. We discuss the astrophysical implications of GW190521 for stellar collapse and for the possible formation of black holes in the pair-instability mass gap through various channels: via (multiple) stellar coalescences, or via hierarchical mergers of lower-mass black holes in star clusters or in active galactic nuclei. We find it to be unlikely that GW190521 is a strongly lensed signal of a lower-mass black hole binary merger. We also discuss more exotic possible sources for GW190521, including a highly eccentric black hole binary, or a primordial black hole binary