74 research outputs found
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: No Evidence for Evolution in the M-sigma Relation to z~1
We present host stellar velocity dispersion measurements for a sample of 88
broad-line quasars at 0.10.6) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Reverberation Mapping (SDSS-RM) project. High signal-to-noise ratio coadded
spectra (average S/N~30 per 69 km/s pixel) from SDSS-RM allowed decomposition
of the host and quasar spectra, and measurement of the host stellar velocity
dispersions and black hole (BH) masses using the single-epoch (SE) virial
method. The large sample size and dynamic range in luminosity
(L5100=10^(43.2-44.7) erg/s) lead to the first clear detection of a correlation
between SE virial BH mass and host stellar velocity dispersion far beyond the
local universe. However, the observed correlation is significantly flatter than
the local relation, suggesting that there are selection biases in high-z
luminosity-threshold quasar samples for such studies. Our uniform sample and
analysis enable an investigation of the redshift evolution of the M-sigma
relation free of caveats by comparing different samples/analyses at disjoint
redshifts. We do not observe evolution of the M-sigma relation in our sample,
up to z~1, but there is an indication that the relation flattens towards higher
redshifts. Coupled with the increasing threshold luminosity with redshift in
our sample, this again suggests certain selection biases are at work, and
simple simulations demonstrate that a constant M-sigma relation is favored to
z~1. Our results highlight the scientific potential of deep coadded
spectroscopy from quasar monitoring programs, and offer a new path to probe the
co-evolution of BHs and galaxies at earlier times.Comment: replaced with the accepted version (minor changes and updated
references); ApJ in press; changed title to highlight the main resul
Current patch test results with the European baseline series and extensions to it from the 'European Surveillance System on Contact Allergy' network, 2007-2008
BACKGROUND: The pattern of contact sensitization to the supposedly most important allergens assembled in the baseline series differs between countries, presumably at least partly because of exposure differences. Objectives. To describe the prevalence of contact sensitization to allergens tested in consecutive patients in the years 2007 and 2008, and to discuss possible differences. METHODS: Data from the 39 departments in 11 European countries comprising the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergy network (www.essca-dc.org) in this period have been pooled and analysed according to common standards. RESULTS: Patch test results with the European baseline series, and country-specific or department-specific additions to it, obtained in 25 181 patients, showed marked international variation. Metals and fragrances are still the most frequent allergens across Europe. Some allergens tested nationally may be useful future additions to the European baseline series, for example methylisothiazolinone, whereas a few long-term components of the European baseline series, namely primin and clioquinol, no longer warrant routine testing. CONCLUSIONS: The present analysis points to 'excess' prevalences of specific contact sensitization in some countries, although interpretation must be cautious if only few, and possibly specialized, centres are representing one country. A comparison as presented may help to target in-depth research into possible causes of 'excess' exposure, and/or consideration of methodological issues, including modifications to the baseline series
Genome-wide association study reveals novel genetic loci:a new polygenic risk score for mitral valve prolapse
AIMS: Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a common valvular heart disease with a prevalence of >2% in the general adult population. Despite this high incidence, there is a limited understanding of the molecular mechanism of this disease, and no medical therapy is available for this disease. We aimed to elucidate the genetic basis of MVP in order to better understand this complex disorder. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a meta-analysis of six genome-wide association studies that included 4884 cases and 434 649 controls. We identified 14 loci associated with MVP in our primary analysis and 2 additional loci associated with a subset of the samples that additionally underwent mitral valve surgery. Integration of epigenetic, transcriptional, and proteomic data identified candidate MVP genes including LMCD1, SPTBN1, LTBP2, TGFB2, NMB, and ALPK3. We created a polygenic risk score (PRS) for MVP and showed an improved MVP risk prediction beyond age, sex, and clinical risk factors. CONCLUSION: We identified 14 genetic loci that are associated with MVP. Multiple analyses identified candidate genes including two transforming growth factor-beta signalling molecules and spectrin beta. We present the first PRS for MVP that could eventually aid risk stratification of patients for MVP screening in a clinical setting. These findings advance our understanding of this common valvular heart disease and may reveal novel therapeutic targets for intervention. KEY QUESTION: Expand our understanding of the genetic basis for mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Uncover relevant pathways and target genes for MVP pathophysiology. Leverage genetic data for MVP risk prediction. KEY FINDING: Sixteen genetic loci were significantly associated with MVP, including 13 novel loci. Interesting target genes at these loci included LTBP2, TGFB2, ALKP3, BAG3, RBM20, and SPTBN1. A risk score including clinical factors and a polygenic risk score, performed best at predicting MVP, with an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.677. TAKE-HOME MESSAGE: Mitral valve prolapse has a polygenic basis: many genetic variants cumulatively influence pre-disposition for disease. Disease risk may be modulated via changes to transforming growth factor-beta signalling, the cytoskeleton, as well as cardiomyopathy pathways. Polygenic risk scores could enhance the MVP risk prediction
Crop Updates 2005 - Farming Systems
This session covers forty four papers from different authors:
PLENARY
1. 2005 Outlook, David Stephens and Nicola Telcik, Department of Agriculture
FERTILITY AND NUTRITION
2. The effect of higher nitrogen fertiliser prices on rotation and fertiliser strategies in cropping systems, Ross Kingwell, Department of Agriculture and University of Western Australia
3. Stubble management: The short and long term implications for crop nutrition and soil fertility, Wayne Pluske, Nutrient Management Systems and Bill Bowden, Department of Agriculture
4. Stubble management: The pros and cons of different methods, Bill Bowden, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia and Mike Collins, WANTFA
5. Effect of stubble burning and seasonality on microbial processes and nutrient recycling, Frances Hoyle, The University of Western Australia
6. Soil biology and crop production in Western Australian farming systems, D.V. Murphy, N. Milton, M. Osman, F.C. Hoyle, L.K Abbott, W.R. Cookson and S. Darmawanto, The University of Western Australia
7. Urea is as effective as CAN when no rain for 10 days, Bill Crabtree, Crabtree Agricultural Consulting
8. Fertiliser (N,P,S,K) and lime requirements for wheat production in the Merredin district, Geoff Anderson, Department of Agriculture and Darren Kidson, Summit Fertilizers
9. Trace element applications: Up-front verses foliar? Bill Bowden and Ross Brennan, Department of Agriculture
10. FertcareÂź, Environmental Product Stewardship and Advisor Standards for thee Fertiliser Industry, Nick Drew, Fertilizer Industry Federation of Australia (FIFA)
SOIL AND LAND MANAGEMENT
11. Species response to row spacing, density and nutrition, Bill Bowden, Craig Scanlan, Lisa Sherriff, Bob French and Reg Lunt, Department of Agriculture
12. Investigation into the influence of row orientation in lupin crops, Jeff Russell, Department of Agriculture and Angie Roe, Farm Focus Consultants
13. Deriving variable rate management zones for crops, Ian Maling, Silverfox Solutions and Matthew Adams, DLI
14. In a world of Precision Agriculture, weigh trailers are not passé, Jeff Russell, Department of Agriculture
15. Cover crop management to combat ryegrass resistance and improve yields, Jeff Russell, Department of Agriculture and Angie Roe, Farm Focus Consultants
16. ARGT home page, the place to find information on annual ryegrass toxicity on the web, Dr George Yan, BART Pty Ltd
17. Shallow leading tine (SLT) ripper significantly reduces draft force, improves soil tilth and allows even distribution of subsoil ameliorants, Mohammad Hamza, Glen Riethmuller and Wal Anderson, Department of Agriculture
PASTURE ANS SUMMER CROP SYSTEMS
18. New annual pasture legumes for Mediteranean farming systems, Angelo Loi, Phil Nichols, Clinton Revell and David Ferris, Department of Agriculture
19. How sustainable are phase rotations with Lucerne? Phil Ward, CSIRO Plant Industry
20. Management practicalities of summer cropping, Andrea Hills and Sally-Anne Penny, Department of Agriculture
21. Rainfall zone determines the effect of summer crops on winter yields, Andrea Hills, Sally-Anne Penny and David Hall, Department of Agriculture
22. Summer crops and water use, Andrea Hills, Sally-Anne Penny and David Hall, Department of Agriculture, and Michael Robertson and Don Gaydon, CSIRO Brisbane
23. Risk analysis of sorgum cropping, Andrea Hills and Sally-Anne Penny, Department of Agriculture, and Dr Michael Robertson and Don Gaydon, CSIRO Brisbane
FARMER DECISION SUPPORT AND ADOPTION
24. Variety release and End Point Royalties â a new system? Tress Walmsley, Department of Agriculture
25. Farming system analaysis using the STEP Tool, Caroline Peek and Megan Abrahams, Department of Agriculture
26. The Leakage Calculator: A simple tool for groundwater recharge assessment, Paul Raper, Department of Agriculture
27. The cost of Salinity Calculator â your tool to assessing the profitability of salinity management options, Richard OâDonnell and Trevor Lacey, Department of Agriculture
28. Climate decision support tools, Meredith Fairbanks and David Tennant, Department of Agriculture
29. Horses for courses â using the best tools to manage climate risk, Cameron Weeks, Mingenew-Irwin Group/Planfarm and Richard Quinlan, Planfarm Agronomy
30. Use of seasonal outlook for making N decisions in Merredin, Meredith Fairbanks and Alexandra Edward, Department of Agriculture
31. Forecasts and profits, Benefits or bulldust? Chris Carter and Doug Hamilton, Department of Agriculture
32. A tool to estimate fixed and variable header and tractor depreciation costs, Peter Tozer, Department of Agriculture
33. Partners in grain: âPutting new faces in new placesâ, Renaye Horne, Department of Agriculture
34. Results from the Grower group Alliance, Tracey Gianatti, Grower Group Alliance
35. Local Farmer Group Network â farming systems research opportunities through local groups, Paul Carmody, Local Farmer Group Network
GREENHOUSE GAS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
36. Changing rainfall patterns in the grainbelt, Ian Foster, Department of Agriculture
37. Vulnerability of broadscale agriculture to the impacts of climate change, Michele John, CSIRO (formerly Department of Agriculture) and Ross George, Department of Agriculture
38. Impacts of climate change on wheat yield at Merredin, Imma Farré and Ian Foster, Department of Agriculture
39. Climate change, land use suitability and water security, Ian Kininmonth, Dennis van Gool and Neil Coles, Department of Agriculture
40. Nitrous oxide emissions from cropping systems, Bill Porter, Department of Agriculture, Louise Barton, University of Western Australia
41. The potential of greenhouse sinks to underwrite improved land management in Western Australia, Richard Harper and Peter Ritson, CRC for Greenhouse Accounting and Forest Products Commission, Tony Beck, Tony Beck Consulting Services, Chris Mitchell and Michael Hill, CRC for Greenhouse Accounting
42. Removing uncertainty from greenhouse emissions, Fiona Barker-Reid, Will Gates, Ken Wilson and Rob Baigent, Department of Primary Industries - Victoria and CRC for Greenhouse Accounting (CRCGA), and Ian Galbally, Mick Meyer and Ian Weeks, CSIRO Atmospheric Research and CRCGA
43. Greenhouse in Agriculture Program (GIA), Traci Griffin, CRC for Greenhouse Accounting
44. Grains Greenhouse Accounting framework, D. Rodriguez, M. Probust, M. Meyers, D. Chen, A. Bennett, W. Strong, R. Nussey, I. Galbally and M. Howden
CONTACT DETAILS FOR PRINCIPAL AUTHOR
TOI-836 : a super-Earth and mini-Neptune transiting a nearby K-dwarf
Funding: TGW, ACC, and KH acknowledge support from STFC consolidated grant numbers ST/R000824/1 and ST/V000861/1, and UKSA grant ST/R003203/1.We present the discovery of two exoplanets transiting TOI-836 (TIC 440887364) using data from TESS Sector 11 and Sector 38. TOI-836 is a bright (T = 8.5 mag), high proper motion (âŒ200 mas yrâ1), low metallicity ([Fe/H]ââ0.28) K-dwarf with a mass of 0.68 ± 0.05 Mâ and a radius of 0.67 ± 0.01 Râ. We obtain photometric follow-up observations with a variety of facilities, and we use these data-sets to determine that the inner planet, TOI-836 b, is a 1.70 ± 0.07 Râ super-Earth in a 3.82 day orbit, placing it directly within the so-called âradius valleyâ. The outer planet, TOI-836 c, is a 2.59 ± 0.09 Râ mini-Neptune in an 8.60 day orbit. Radial velocity measurements reveal that TOI-836 b has a mass of 4.5 ± 0.9 Mâ, while TOI-836 c has a mass of 9.6 ± 2.6 Mâ. Photometric observations show Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) on the order of 20 minutes for TOI-836 c, although there are no detectable TTVs for TOI-836 b. The TTVs of planet TOI-836 c may be caused by an undetected exterior planet.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
TOI-836: A super-Earth and mini-Neptune transiting a nearby K-dwarf
We present the discovery of two exoplanets transiting TOI-836 (TIC 440887364)
using data from TESS Sector 11 and Sector 38. TOI-836 is a bright (
mag), high proper motion ( mas yr), low metallicity
([Fe/H]) K-dwarf with a mass of M and a
radius of R. We obtain photometric follow-up
observations with a variety of facilities, and we use these data-sets to
determine that the inner planet, TOI-836 b, is a R
super-Earth in a 3.82 day orbit, placing it directly within the so-called
'radius valley'. The outer planet, TOI-836 c, is a R
mini-Neptune in an 8.60 day orbit. Radial velocity measurements reveal that
TOI-836 b has a mass of M , while TOI-836 c has a mass
of M. Photometric observations show Transit Timing
Variations (TTVs) on the order of 20 minutes for TOI-836 c, although there are
no detectable TTVs for TOI-836 b. The TTVs of planet TOI-836 c may be caused by
an undetected exterior planet
A pair of Sub-Neptunes transiting the bright K-dwarf TOI-1064 characterised with CHEOPS
Funding: TGW, ACC, and KH acknowledge support from STFC consolidated grant numbers ST/R000824/1 and ST/V000861/1, and UKSA grant ST/R003203/1.We report the discovery and characterization of a pair of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright K-dwarf TOI-1064 (TIC 79748331), initially detected in the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) photometry. To characterize the system, we performed and retrieved the CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS), TESS, and ground-based photometry, the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) high-resolution spectroscopy, and Gemini speckle imaging. We characterize the host star and determine Teff,â=4734±67Kâ , Râ=0.726±0.007Rââ , and Mâ=0.748±0.032Mââ . We present a novel detrending method based on point spread function shape-change modelling and demonstrate its suitability to correct flux variations in CHEOPS data. We confirm the planetary nature of both bodies and find that TOI-1064 b has an orbital period of Pb = 6.44387 ± 0.00003 d, a radius of Rb = 2.59 ± 0.04 Râ, and a mass of Mb=13.5+1.7â1.8 Mâ, whilst TOI-1064 c has an orbital period of Pc=12.22657+0.00005â0.00004 d, a radius of Rc = 2.65 ± 0.04 Râ, and a 3Ï upper mass limit of 8.5 Mâ. From the high-precision photometry we obtain radius uncertainties of âŒ1.6 per cent, allowing us to conduct internal structure and atmospheric escape modelling. TOI-1064 b is one of the densest, well-characterized sub-Neptunes, with a tenuous atmosphere that can be explained by the loss of a primordial envelope following migration through the protoplanetary disc. It is likely that TOI-1064 c has an extended atmosphere due to the tentative low density, however further radial velocities are needed to confirm this scenario and the similar radii, different masses nature of this system. The high-precision data and modelling of TOI-1064 b are important for planets in this region of massâradius space, and it allow us to identify a trend in bulk densityâstellar metallicity for massive sub-Neptunes that may hint at the formation of this population of planets.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe
We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median ). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July
The nitrogen carrier in inner protoplanetary disks
The dominant reservoirs of elemental nitrogen in protoplanetary disks have not yet been observationally identified. Likely candidates are HCN, NHâ and Nâ. The relative abundances of these carriers determine the composition of planetesimals as a function of disk radius due to strong differences in their volatility. A significant sequestration of nitrogen in carriers less volatile than Nâ is likely required to deliver even small amounts of nitrogen to the Earth and potentially habitable exo-planets. While HCN has been detected in small amounts in inner disks (<10 au), so far only relatively insensitive upper limits on inner disk NHâ have been obtained. We present new Gemini-TEXES high resolution spectroscopy of the 10.75 ÎŒm band of warm NHâ, and use 2-dimensional radiative transfer modeling to improve previous upper limits by an order of magnitude to [NHâ/Hnuc]<10â7 at 1 au. These NHâ abundances are significantly lower than those typical for ices in circumstellar envelopes ([NHâ/Hnuc]âŒ3Ă10â6). We also consistently retrieve the inner disk HCN gas abundances using archival Spitzer spectra, and derive upper limits on the HCN ice abundance in protostellar envelopes using archival ground-based 4.7 ÎŒm spectroscopy ([HCNice]/[HâOice]<1.5â9\%). We identify the NHâ/HCN ratio as an indicator of chemical evolution in the disk, and use this ratio to suggest that inner disk nitrogen is efficiently converted from NHâ to Nâ, significantly increasing the volatility of nitrogen in planet-forming regions
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