Investigating the structure and fragmentation of a highly filamentary IRDC

We present 3.7 arcsec (~0.05 pc) resolution 3.2 mm dust continuum observations from the IRAM PdBI, with the aim of studying the structure and fragmentation of the filamentary Infrared Dark Cloud G035.39-00.33. The continuum emission is segmented into a series of 13 quasi-regularly spaced (~0.18pc) cores, following the major axis of the IRDC. We compare the spatial distribution of the cores with that predicted by theoretical work describing the fragmentation of hydrodynamic fluid cylinders, finding a significant (factor of ~8) discrepancy between the two. Our observations are consistent with the picture emerging from kinematic studies of molecular clouds suggesting that the cores are harboured within a complex network of independent sub-filaments. This result emphasises the importance of considering the underlying physical structure, and potentially, dynamically important magnetic fields, in any fragmentation analysis. The identified cores exhibit a range in (peak) beam-averaged column density ($3.6{\rm x}10^{23}{\rm cm}^{-2}<N_{H,c}<8.0{\rm x}10^{23}{\rm cm}^{-2}$), mass ($8.1M_{\odot}<M_{c}<26.1M_{\odot}$), and number density ($6.1{\rm x}10^{5}{\rm cm}^{-3}<n_{H, c, eq}<14.7{\rm x}10^{5}{\rm cm}^{-3}$). Two of these cores, dark in the mid-infrared, centrally-concentrated, monolithic (with no traceable substructure at our PdBI resolution), and with estimated masses of the order ~20-25$M_{\odot}$, are good candidates for the progenitors of intermediate-to-high-mass stars. Virial parameters span a range $0.2<\alpha_{\rm vir}<1.3$. Without additional support, possibly from dynamically important magnetic fields with strengths of the order 230$\mu$G<B<670$\mu$G, the cores are susceptible to gravitational collapse. These results may imply a multi-layered fragmentation process, which incorporates the formation of sub-filaments, embedded cores, and the possibility of further fragmentation

Directional takeoff, aerial righting, and adhesion landing of semiaquatic springtails

Springtails (Collembola) have been traditionally portrayed as explosive jumpers with incipient directional takeoff and uncontrolled landing. However, for these collembolans who live near the water, such skills are crucial for evading a host of voracious aquatic and terrestrial predators. We discover that semiaquatic springtails Isotomurus retardatus can perform directional jumps, rapid aerial righting, and near-perfect landing on the water surface. They achieve these locomotive controls by adjusting their body attitude and impulse during takeoff, deforming their body in mid-air, and exploiting the hydrophilicity of their ventral tube, known as collophore. Experiments and mathematical modeling indicate that directional-impulse control during takeoff is driven by the collophores adhesion force, the body angle, and the stroke duration produced by their jumping organ, the furcula. In mid-air, springtails curve their bodies to form a U-shape pose, which leverages aerodynamic forces to right themselves in less than 20 ms, the fastest ever measured in animals. A stable equilibrium is facilitated by the water adhered to the collophore. Aerial righting was confirmed by placing springtails in a vertical wind tunnel and through physical models. Due to these aerial responses, springtails land on their ventral side 85% of the time while anchoring via the collophore on the water surface to avoid bouncing. We validated the springtail biophysical principles in a bioinspired jumping robot that reduces in-flight rotation and lands upright 75% of the time. Thus, contrary to common belief, these wingless hexapods can jump, skydive and land with outstanding control that can be fundamental for survival.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Mind the numt: Finding informative mitochondrial markers in a giant grasshopper genome

H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, Grant/Award Number: 658706; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades, Grant/Award Number: PID2019-104952GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033The barcoding of the mitochondrial COX1 gene has been instrumental in cataloguing the tree of life, and in providing insights in the phylogeographic history of species. Yet, this strategy has encountered difficulties in major clades characterized by large genomes, which contain a high frequency of nuclear pseudogenes originating from the mitochondrial genome (numts). Here, we use the meadow grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus), which possesses a giant genome of ~13 Gb, to identify mitochondrial genes that are underrepresented as numts, and test their use as informative phylogeographic markers. We recover the same full mitochondrial sequence using both whole genome and transcriptome sequencing, including functional protein‐coding genes and tRNAs. We show that a region of the mitogenome containing the COX1 gene, typically used in DNA barcoding, has disproportionally higher diversity and coverage than the rest of the mitogenome, consistent with multiple insertions of that region into the nuclear genome. By designing new markers in regions of less elevated diversity and coverage, we identify two mitochondrial genes that are less likely to be duplicated as numts. We show that, while these markers show high levels of incomplete lineage sorting between subspecies, as expected for mitochondrial genes, genetic variation reflects their phylogeographic history accurately. These findings allow us to identify useful mitochondrial markers for future studies in C. parallelus, an important biological system for evolutionary biology. More generally, this study exemplifies how non‐PCR‐based methods using next‐generation sequencing can be used to avoid numts in species characterized by large genomes, which have remained challenging to study in taxonomy and evolution.H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions 658706Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades PID2019-104952GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

Noncommutative gravity coupled to fermions: second order expansion via Seiberg-Witten map

We use the Seiberg-Witten map (SW map) to expand noncommutative gravity coupled to fermions in terms of ordinary commuting fields. The action is invariant under general coordinate transformations and local Lorentz rotations, and has the same degrees of freedom as the commutative gravity action. The expansion is given up to second order in the noncommutativity parameter {\theta}. A geometric reformulation and generalization of the SW map is presented that applies to any abelian twist. Compatibility of the map with hermiticity and charge conjugation conditions is proven. The action is shown to be real and invariant under charge conjugation at all orders in {\theta}. This implies the bosonic part of the action to be even in {\theta}, while the fermionic part is even in {\theta} for Majorana fermions.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX. Revised version with proof of charge conjugation symmetry of the NC action and its parity under theta --> - theta (see new sect. 2.6, sect. 6 and app. B). References added. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:0902.381

Recurrent Occlusion of Laser Iridotomy Sites After Posterior Chamber Phakic IOL Implantation

We report a case of recurrent occlusion of laser iridotomy (LI) sites after a Visian ICL (Implantable contact lens version 4, Staar Surgical AG, Nidau, Switzerland) implantation. A 45-year-old woman had bilateral ICL implantation after placement of two peripheral LI sites in each eye to prevent pupillary block. At one month after the operation, severe narrowing or occlusion of four LI sites occurred. After this, although she received four additional LIs at postoperative months 1, 6, 9 and 10 in both eyes, the narrowing or occlusion recurred. Mild chronic anterior chamber inflammation was observed intermittently throughout the follow-up period. We performed clear lens extraction in both eyes (at postoperative month 11 in the left eye and month 26 in the right eye) due to recurrent occlusion of the LI sites and excess trabecular meshwork pigment deposition presumably caused by the four repeated LIs. Recurrent obstruction of LI sites can occur after ICL implantation. These problems were unresolvable despite four repeated laser iridotomies. The risks associated with anterior uveitis must be considered when planning an ICL implantation

Airborne measurements of western U.S. wildfire emissions: Comparison with prescribed burning and air quality implications

Wildfires emit significant amounts of pollutants that degrade air quality. Plumes from three wildfires in the western U.S. were measured from aircraft during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) and the Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP), both in summer 2013. This study reports an extensive set of emission factors (EFs) for over 80 gases and 5 components of submicron particulate matter (PM1) from these temperate wildfires. These include rarely, or never before, measured oxygenated volatile organic compounds and multifunctional organic nitrates. The observed EFs are compared with previous measurements of temperate wildfires, boreal forest fires, and temperate prescribed fires. The wildfires emitted high amounts of PM1 (with organic aerosol (OA) dominating the mass) with an average EF that is more than 2 times the EFs for prescribed fires. The measured EFs were used to estimate the annual wildfire emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, total nonmethane organic compounds, and PM1 from 11 western U.S. states. The estimated gas emissions are generally comparable with the 2011 National Emissions Inventory (NEI). However, our PM1 emission estimate (1530 ± 570 Gg yr-1) is over 3 times that of the NEI PM2.5 estimate and is also higher thanthe PM2.5 emitted from all other sources in these states in the NEI. This study indicates that the source of OA from biomass burning in the western states is significantly underestimated. In addition, our results indicate that prescribed burning may be an effective method to reduce fine particle emissions

The chronic care model: Congruency and predictors among patients with cardiovascular diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the Netherlands

Objective: The Chronic Care Model (CCM) achieved widespread acceptance and reflects the core elements of patient-centred care in chronic diseases such as CVD and COPD. Our aim is to assess the extent to which current care for CVD and COPD patients aligns with the CCM in Dutch healthcare practices in the early stages of implementing disease-management programs, thereby revealing possible predictors that tell us whether certain patients are more likel

Two Different Renal Cell Carcinomas and Multiple Angiomyolipomas in a Patient with Tuberous Sclerosis

We report a case of tuberous sclerosis associated with two histologically different renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) and multiple angiomyolipomas (AMLs) in the same kidney. A 43-year-old female was admitted to our hospital with left flank pain and a huge palpable mass in the left flank area. Abdominal computed tomography revealed two concurrent RCCs and multiple AMLs in the left kidney. Because of the clinical suspicion of RCC, the patient underwent left radical nephrectomy. On gross examination, the total size of the resected left kidney was 30.5×17×8 cm. Microscopically, the upper pole tumor features were consistent with chromophobe RCC and the midpole tumor was a clear-cell RCC. The multifocal masses in the remaining remnant parenchyma were AMLs. Six months after surgery, the patient is healthy without signs of tumor recurrence