Luminous Intensity for Traffic Signals: A Scientific Basis for Performance Specifications

Humnan factors experiments on visual responses to simulated traffic signals using incandescent lamps and light-emitting diodes are described

ALMA observations of the Extended Green Object G19.01−-0.03: II. A massive protostar with typical chemical abundances surrounded by four low-mass prestellar core candidates

We present a study of the physical and chemical properties of the Extended Green Object (EGO) G19.01$-$0.03 using sub-arcsecond angular resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 1.05mm and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) 1.21cm data. G19.01$-$0.03 MM1, the millimetre source associated with the central massive young stellar object (MYSO), appeared isolated and potentially chemically young in previous Submillimeter Array observations. In our $\sim0.4''$-resolution ALMA data, MM1 has four low-mass millimetre companions within 0.12pc, all lacking maser or outflow emission, indicating they may be prestellar cores. With a rich ALMA spectrum full of complex organic molecules, MM1 does not appear chemically young, but has molecular abundances typical of high-mass hot cores in the literature. At the 1.05mm continuum peak of MM1, $\mathrm{N}(\mathrm{CH}_{3}\mathrm{OH})=(2.22\pm0.01)\times10^{18}$cm$^{-2}$ and $T_{\mathrm{ex}} = 162.7\substack{+0.3 \\ -0.5}$K based on pixel-by-pixel Bayesian analysis of LTE synthetic methanol spectra across MM1. Intriguingly, the peak CH$_{3}$OH $T_{\mathrm{ex}}=165.5\pm0.6$ K is offset from MM1's millimetre continuum peak by $0.22''\sim880$au, and a region of elevated CH$_{3}$OH $T_{\mathrm{ex}}$ coincides with free-free VLA 5.01cm continuum, adding to the tentative evidence for a possible unresolved high-mass binary in MM1. In our VLA 1.21cm data, we report the first NH$_{3}$(3,3) maser detections towards G19.01$-$0.03, along with candidate 25GHz CH$_{3}$OH $5(2,3)-5(1,4)$ maser emission; both are spatially and kinematically coincident with 44GHz Class I CH$_{3}$OH masers in the MM1 outflow. We also report the ALMA detection of candidate 278.3GHz Class I CH$_{3}$OH maser emission towards this outflow, strengthening the connection of these three maser types to MYSO outflows.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures, 7 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

ALMA observations of the Extended Green Object G19.01-0.03 : II. A massive protostar with typical chemical abundances surrounded by four low-mass prestellar core candidates

Funding: GMW acknowledges support from the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) under ST/W00125X/1. CJC acknowledges support from the UK’s STFC under ST/M001296/1. PN acknowledges support by grant 618.000.001 from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and support by the Danish National Research Foundation through the Center of Excellence "InterCat" (Grant agreement no.: DNRF150).We present a study of the physical and chemical properties of the Extended Green Object (EGO) G19.01−0.03 using sub-arcsecond angular resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 1.05 mm and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) 1.21 cm data. G19.01−0.03 MM1, the millimetre source associated with the central massive young stellar object (MYSO), appeared isolated and potentially chemically young in previous Submillimeter Array observations. In our ∼0.4″-resolution ALMA data, MM1 has four low-mass millimetre companions within 0.12 pc, all lacking maser or outflow emission, indicating they may be prestellar cores. With a rich ALMA spectrum full of complex organic molecules, MM1 does not appear chemically young, but has molecular abundances typical of high-mass hot cores in the literature. At the 1.05 mm continuum peak of MM1, N(CH3OH) = (2.22 ± 0.01) × 1018 cm−2 and Tex=162.7+0.3−0.5 K based on pixel-by-pixel Bayesian analysis of LTE synthetic methanol spectra across MM1. Intriguingly, the peak CH3OH Tex = 165.5 ± 0.6 K is offset from MM1’s millimetre continuum peak by 0.22″ ∼ 880 AU, and a region of elevated CH3OH Tex coincides with free-free VLA 5.01 cm continuum, adding to the tentative evidence for a possible unresolved high-mass binary in MM1. In our VLA 1.21 cm data, we report the first NH3(3,3) maser detections towards G19.01−0.03, along with candidate 25 GHz CH3OH 5(2, 3) − 5(1, 4) maser emission; both are spatially and kinematically coincident with 44 GHz Class I CH3OH masers in the MM1 outflow. We also report the ALMA detection of candidate 278.3 GHz Class I CH3OH maser emission towards this outflow, strengthening the connection of these three maser types to MYSO outflows.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Luminous Intensity for Traffic Signals: A Scientific Basis for Performance Specifications - Appendices

Luminous Intensity for Traffic Signals: A Scientific Basis for Performance Specifications - Appendice

Production of Interferons and β-Chemokines by Placental Trophoblasts of HIV-1-Infected Women

Objective: The mechanism whereby the placental cells of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-infected mother protect the fetus from HIV-1 infection is unclear. Interferons (IFNs) inhibit the replication of viruses by acting at various stages of the life cycle and may play a role in protecting against vertical transmission of HIV-1. In addition the β-chemokines RANTES (regulated on activation T cell expressed and secreted), macrophage inflammatory protein-1-α (MIP-1α), and MIP-1β can block HIV-1 entry into cells by preventing the binding of the macrophage-trophic HIV-1 strains to the coreceptorCCR5. In this study the production of IFNs and β-chemokines by placental trophoblasts of HIV-1-infected women who were HIV-1 non-transmitters was examined. Methods: Placental trophoblastic cells were isolated from 29 HIV-1-infected and 10 control subjects. Supernatants of trophoblast cultures were tested for the production of IFNs and β-chemokines by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Additionally, HIV-1-gag and IFN-β transcripts were determined by a semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. Results: All placental trophoblasts of HIV-1-infected women contained HIV-1-gag transcripts. There were no statistical differences in the median constitutive levels of IFN-α and IFN-γ produced by trophoblasts of HIV-1- infected and control subjects. In contrast, trophoblasts of HIV-1-infected women constitutively produced significantly higher levels of IFN-β protein than trophoblasts of control subjects. Furthermore, the median levels of β-chemokines produced by trophoblasts of HIV-infected and control women were similar. Conclusions: Since there was no correlation between the placental HIV load and the production of interferons or β-chemokines, the role of trophoblast-derived IFNs and β-chemokines in protecting the fetus from infection with HIV-1 is not clear

SOFIA FORCAST photometry of 12 Extended Green Objects in the Milky Way

Funding: UK STFC grant number ST/M001296/1 (CJC).Massive young stellar objects are known to undergo an evolutionary phase in which high mass accretion rates drive strong outflows. A class of objects believed to trace this phase accurately is the Galactic Legacy Infrared Midplane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) Extended Green Object (EGO) sample, so named for the presence of extended 4.5μm emission on size scales of∼0.1pc in Spitzer images. We have been conducting a multi-wavelength examination of a sample of 12 EGOs with distances of 1-5 kpc. In this paper, we present mid-infrared images and photometry of these EGOs obtained with the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy and subsequently construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for these sources from the near-infrared to sub-millimeter regimes using additional archival data. We compare the results from graybody models and several publicly-available software packages which produce model SEDs in the context of a single massive protostar. The models yield typical R⋆ ∼10 R⊙, T⋆ ∼103-104 K, and L⋆ ∼1−40 × 103 L⊙; the median L/M for our sample is 24.7 L⊙/M⊙. Model results rarely converge for R⋆  and T⋆, but do for L⋆, which we take to be an indication of the multiplicity and inherently clustered nature of these sources even though, typically, only a single source dominates in the mid-infrared. The median L/M value for the sample suggests that these objects may be in a transitional stage between the commonly described “IR-quiet” and “IR-bright” stages of MYSO evolution. The median Tdust for the sample is less conclusive, but suggests that these objects are either in this transitional stage or occupy the cooler (and presumably younger) part of the IR-bright stage.PostprintPeer reviewe

Healthcare resource utilisation and costs of agitation in people with dementia living in care homes in England:The Managing Agitation and Raising QUality of LifE in Dementia (MARQUE) study

<div><p>Background</p><p>People with dementia living in care homes often experience clinically significant agitation; however, little is known about its economic impact.</p><p>Objective</p><p>To calculate the cost of agitation in people with dementia living in care homes.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We used the baseline data from 1,424 residents with dementia living in care homes (part of <b>M</b>anaging <b>A</b>gitation and <b>R</b>aising <b>QU</b>ality of lif<b>E</b> in dementia (MARQUE) study) that had Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) scores recorded. We investigated the relationship between residents’ health and social care costs and severity of agitation based on the CMAI total score. In addition, we assessed resource utilisation and compared costs of residents with and without clinically significant symptoms of agitation using the CMAI over and above the cost of the care home.</p><p>Results</p><p>Agitation defined by the CMAI was a significant predictor of costs. On average, a one-point increase in the CMAI will lead to a 0.5 percentage points (cost ratio 1.005, 95%CI 1.001 to 1.010) increase in the annual costs. The excess annual cost associated with agitation per resident with dementia was £1,125.35. This suggests that, on average, agitation accounts for 44% of the annual health and social care costs of dementia in people living in care homes.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Agitation in people with dementia living in care homes contributes significantly to the overall costs increasing as the level of agitation increases. Residents with the highest level of agitation cost nearly twice as much as those with the lowest levels of agitation, suggesting that effective strategies to reduce agitation are likely to be cost-effective in this setting.</p></div

Atmospheric Organic Material and the Nutrients Nitrogen and Phosphorus It Carries to the Ocean

[1] The global tropospheric budget of gaseous and particulate non‐methane organic matter (OM) is re‐examined to provide a holistic view of the role that OM plays in transporting the essential nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus to the ocean. A global 3‐dimensional chemistry‐transport model was used to construct the first global picture of atmospheric transport and deposition of the organic nitrogen (ON) and organic phosphorus (OP) that are associated with OM, focusing on the soluble fractions of these nutrients. Model simulations agree with observations within an order of magnitude. Depending on location, the observed water soluble ON fraction ranges from ∼3% to 90% (median of ∼35%) of total soluble N in rainwater; soluble OP ranges from ∼20–83% (median of ∼35%) of total soluble phosphorus. The simulations suggest that the global ON cycle has a strong anthropogenic component with ∼45% of the overall atmospheric source (primary and secondary) associated with anthropogenic activities. In contrast, only 10% of atmospheric OP is emitted from human activities. The model‐derived present‐day soluble ON and OP deposition to the global ocean is estimated to be ∼16 Tg‐N/yr and ∼0.35 Tg‐P/yr respectively with an order of magnitude uncertainty. Of these amounts ∼40% and ∼6%, respectively, are associated with anthropogenic activities, and 33% and 90% are recycled oceanic materials. Therefore, anthropogenic emissions are having a greater impact on the ON cycle than the OP cycle; consequently increasing emissions may increase P‐limitation in the oligotrophic regions of the world\u27s ocean that rely on atmospheric deposition as an important nutrient source

Expression of Regulatory Platelet MicroRNAs in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Background: Increased platelet activation in sickle cell disease (SCD) contributes to a state of hypercoagulability and confers a risk of thromboembolic complications. The role for post-transcriptional regulation of the platelet transcriptome by microRNAs (miRNAs) in SCD has not been previously explored. This is the first study to determine whether platelets from SCD exhibit an altered miRNA expression profile. Methods and Findings: We analyzed the expression of miRNAs isolated from platelets from a primary cohort (SCD = 19, controls = 10) and a validation cohort (SCD = 7, controls = 7) by hybridizing to the Agilent miRNA microarrays. A dramatic difference in miRNA expression profiles between patients and controls was noted in both cohorts separately. A total of 40 differentially expressed platelet miRNAs were identified as common in both cohorts (p-value 0.05, fold change>2) with 24 miRNAs downregulated. Interestingly, 14 of the 24 downregulated miRNAs were members of three families - miR-329, miR-376 and miR-154 - which localized to the epigenetically regulated, maternally imprinted chromosome 14q32 region. We validated the downregulated miRNAs, miR-376a and miR-409-3p, and an upregulated miR-1225-3p using qRT-PCR. Over-expression of the miR-1225-3p in the Meg01 cells was followed by mRNA expression profiling to identify mRNA targets. This resulted in significant transcriptional repression of 1605 transcripts. A combinatorial approach using Meg01 mRNA expression profiles following miR-1225-3p overexpression, a computational prediction analysis of miRNA target sequences and a previously published set of differentially expressed platelet transcripts from SCD patients, identified three novel platelet mRNA targets: PBXIP1, PLAGL2 and PHF20L1. Conclusions: We have identified significant differences in functionally active platelet miRNAs in patients with SCD as compared to controls. These data provide an important inventory of differentially expressed miRNAs in SCD patients and an experimental framework for future studies of miRNAs as regulators of biological pathways in platelets. © 2013 Jain et al