On the Origin of Hyper-Velocity Stars Near Sagittarius A*

We present our investigation into the origins of high- and hyper-velocity stars around the Milky Way by exploring Gaia data. We begin by establishing a working set of criteria for a star to even be considered as a potential hyper-velocity star, which we defined chronologically as: if the uncertainty in parallax is acceptably low; if the star has above average total velocity for its home set; and finally if the star has a velocity that is mostly radial we investigate it further. We also discuss the complications encountered trying to identify candidate stars. Finally, we perform a time-reversing procedure to trace our final set of stars back to where they may have originated. We found a large number of candidate stars in our initial broad range search, but by enforcing stricter constraints we found a final sample of 1,158 potential hyper-velocity stars. This set displayed zero stars passing close enough to Sagittarius A* to have been thrown out or boosted to their current velocities. However, by selecting hyper-velocity stars with little proper motion in right ascension and declination, we discovered five stars which may have passed close enough to Sagittarius A* to have had their orbits significantly altered. A detailed analysis of the trajectories of those stars was performed, resulting in one star that may have originated from a binary system that had a close encounter with Sagittarius A*. We propose a potential binary partner in some of the known stars orbiting Sagittarius A* with similar periapsis

Dipeptidyl peptidase-1 inhibition in patients hospitalised with COVID-19: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial

Background Neutrophil serine proteases are involved in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and increased serine protease activity has been reported in severe and fatal infection. We investigated whether brensocatib, an inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase-1 (DPP-1; an enzyme responsible for the activation of neutrophil serine proteases), would improve outcomes in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Methods In a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial, across 14 hospitals in the UK, patients aged 16 years and older who were hospitalised with COVID-19 and had at least one risk factor for severe disease were randomly assigned 1:1, within 96 h of hospital admission, to once-daily brensocatib 25 mg or placebo orally for 28 days. Patients were randomly assigned via a central web-based randomisation system (TruST). Randomisation was stratified by site and age (65 years or ≥65 years), and within each stratum, blocks were of random sizes of two, four, or six patients. Participants in both groups continued to receive other therapies required to manage their condition. Participants, study staff, and investigators were masked to the study assignment. The primary outcome was the 7-point WHO ordinal scale for clinical status at day 29 after random assignment. The intention-to-treat population included all patients who were randomly assigned and met the enrolment criteria. The safety population included all participants who received at least one dose of study medication. This study was registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN30564012. Findings Between June 5, 2020, and Jan 25, 2021, 406 patients were randomly assigned to brensocatib or placebo; 192 (47·3%) to the brensocatib group and 214 (52·7%) to the placebo group. Two participants were excluded after being randomly assigned in the brensocatib group (214 patients included in the placebo group and 190 included in the brensocatib group in the intention-to-treat population). Primary outcome data was unavailable for six patients (three in the brensocatib group and three in the placebo group). Patients in the brensocatib group had worse clinical status at day 29 after being randomly assigned than those in the placebo group (adjusted odds ratio 0·72 [95% CI 0·57–0·92]). Prespecified subgroup analyses of the primary outcome supported the primary results. 185 participants reported at least one adverse event; 99 (46%) in the placebo group and 86 (45%) in the brensocatib group. The most common adverse events were gastrointestinal disorders and infections. One death in the placebo group was judged as possibly related to study drug. Interpretation Brensocatib treatment did not improve clinical status at day 29 in patients hospitalised with COVID-19

Literatura Literature

Este texto se volta para as vicissitudes do informante nativo como figura na representação literária. A autora trabalha "com uma oposição binária relativamente antiquada entre filosofia e literatura, segundo a qual a primeira concatena argumentos e a segunda concebe o impossível. Para ambas o informante nativo parece inevitável". Ela examina a posição desse informante à luz do que chama de "axiomática do imperialismo" em Jane Eyre, de Brontë, Wide Sargasso Sea, de Rhys, e Frankenstein, de Shelley, para concluir com uma leitura de "Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay and Pirtha", de Mahasweta Devi.<br>This text picks at the vicissitudes of the native informant as figure in literary representation. Its author works "with rather an old-fashioned binary opposition between philosophy and literature; that the first concatenates arguments and the second figures the impossible. For both the native informant seems unavoidable". She examines the position of such informant, in the light of what she calls the "axiomatics of imperialism" in Brontë's Jane Eyre, in Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, and in Shelley's Frankenstein, to end up with a reading of Mahasweta Devi's "Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay and Pirtha"