SiS in the circumstellar envelope of IRC +10126: maser and quasi-thermal emission

We present new Effelsberg-100 m, ATCA, and VLA observations of rotational SiS transitions in the circumstellar envelope (CSE) of IRC +10216. Thanks to the high angular resolution achieved by the ATCA observations, we unambiguously confirm that the molecule's J=1-0 transition exhibits maser action in this CSE, as first suggested more than thirty years ago. The maser emission's radial velocity peaking at a local standard of rest velocity of -39.862$\pm$0.065 km/s indicates that it arises from an almost fully accelerated shell. Monitoring observations show time variability of the SiS (1-0) maser. The two lowest-$J$ SiS quasi-thermal emission lines trace a much more extended emitting region than previous high-J SiS observations. Their distributions show that the SiS quasi-thermal emission consists of two components: one is very compact (radius<1.5", corresponding to <3$\times 10^{15}$ cm), and the other extends out to a radius >11". An incomplete shell-like structure is found in the north-east, which is indicative of existing SiS shells. Clumpy structures are also revealed in this CSE. The gain of the SiS (1-0) maser (optical depths of about -5 at the blue-shifted side and, assuming inversion throughout the entire line's velocity range, about -2 at the red-shifted side) suggests that it is unsaturated. The SiS (1-0) maser can be explained in terms of ro-vibrational excitation caused by infrared pumping, and we propose that infrared continuum emission is the main pumping source.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. A high-resolution version can be found at https://gongyan2444.github.io/pdf/cw-leo-sis.pdf 3D movies of SiS cubes can be found at https://gongyan2444.github.io/movie/sis10-3d.avi and https://gongyan2444.github.io/movie/sis21-3d.av

Ökologische Untersuchungen zur Nitrifikation in Nord-und Ostsee

Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate were regularly estimated at several stations in the Kieler Bucht (western Baltic Sea) since November 1964. There are considerable seasonal changes in the contents of these 3 nitrogen compounds with impressive maxima of nitrite and nitrate in February or at the beginning of March. The great increase of nitrite and nitrate during the winter and also a smaller increase in summer are mainly caused by oxidation of ammonia, first to nitrite and then to nitrate, by nitrifying bacteria. In consequence chemoautotrophic nitrite- and nitratebacteria could be found in the water as well as in sediments all over the Kieler Bucht and also in the North Sea around the isle of Helgoland. These nitrifying bacteria are able to oxidize ammonia or nitrite in salinity conditions typical for the western Baltic Sea and the North Sea

Pegfilgrastim ± ciprofloxacin for primary prophylaxis with TAC (docetaxel/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy for breast cancer. Results from the GEPARTRIO study

Background: TAC (docetaxel/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide) is associated with high incidences of grade 4 neutropenia and febrile neutropenia (FN). This analysis compared the efficacies of four regimens for primary prophylaxis of FN and related toxic effects in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant TAC. Patients and methods: Patients with stage T2-T4 primary breast cancer were scheduled to receive 6-8 cycles of TAC. Primary prophylaxis was: ciprofloxacin 500 mg orally twice daily on days 5-14 (n = 253 patients; 1478 cycles), daily granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) (filgrastim 5 μg/kg/day or lenograstim 150 μg/m2/day) on days 5-10 (n = 377; 2400 cycles), pegfilgrastim 6 mg on day 2 (n = 305; 1930 cycles), or pegfilgrastim plus ciprofloxacin (n = 321; 1890 cycles). Results: Pegfilgrastim with/without ciprofloxacin was significantly more effective than daily G-CSF or ciprofloxacin in preventing FN (5% and 7% versus 18% and 22% of patients; all P < 0.001), grade 4 neutropenia, and leukopenia. Pegfilgrastim plus ciprofloxacin completely prevented first cycle FN (P < 0.01 versus pegfilgrastim alone) and fatal neutropenic events. Conclusion: Ciprofloxacin alone, or daily G-CSF from day 5-10 (as in common practice), provided suboptimal protection against FN and related toxic effects in patients receiving TAC. Pegfilgrastim was significantly more effective in this setting, especially if given with ciprofloxaci

Submarine groundwater springs are characterized by distinct fish communities

The inflow of terrestrial groundwater into the ocean is increasingly recognized as an important local source of nutrients and pollutants to coastal ecosystems. Although there is evidence of a link between fresh submarine groundwater discharge (SGD)‐derived nutrients and primary producer and primary consumer abundances, the effects of fresh SGD on the productivity of higher trophic levels such as ichthyofaunal communities remain unclear. To further investigate this relationship, we sampled three sites inside a coral reef lagoon in Mauritius: One site entailing six distinct groundwater springs, a site highly influenced by freshwater influx through the springs, and a strictly marine control site. Using remote underwater video surveys, we found that fish abundances were significantly higher at the groundwater springs than at the other two sampling sites.Principal component analyses showed that the springs and the spring‐influenced part of the lagoon were best described by elevated water nutrient loadings, whereas the control site was characterized by higher water salinity and pH. Macroalgae cover was highest at the control site and the springs. Herbivores and invertivores dominated the fish community at the springs, in contrast to generalists at the control site. At the spring‐influenced site, we mainly encountered high coral/turf algae cover and high abundances of associated fish feeding groups (territorial farmers, corallivores). Our results provide evidence of a fresh SGD‐driven relationship between altered hydrography and distinct fish communities with elevated abundances at groundwater springs in a coral reef lagoon. These findings suggest that the management and assessment of secondary consumer productivity in tropical lagoons should take into account the effects of groundwater springs

Bayesian D-Optimal Choice Designs for Mixtures

__Abstract__ \n \nConsumer products and services can often be described as mixtures of ingredients. Examples are the mixture of ingredients in a cocktail and the mixture of different components of waiting time (e.g., in-vehicle and out-of-vehicle travel time) in a transportation setting. Choice experiments may help to determine how the respondents\' choice of a product or service is affected by the combination of ingredients. In such studies, individuals are confronted with sets of hypothetical products or services and they are asked to choose the most preferred product or service from each set. \n \nHowever, there are no studies on the optimal design of choice experiments involving mixtures. We propose a method for generating an optimal design for such choice experiments. To this end, we first introduce mixture models in the choice context and next present an algorithm to construct optimal experimental designs, assuming the multinomial logit model is used to analyze the choice data. To overcome the problem that the optimal designs depend on the unknown parameter values, we adopt a Bayesian D-optimal design approach. We also consider locally D-optimal designs and compare the performance of the resulting designs to those produced by a utility-neutral (UN) approach in which designs are based on the assumption that individuals are indifferent between all choice alternatives. We demonstrate that our designs are quite different and in general perform better than the UN designs

Deep-Sea Origin and In-Situ Diversification of Chrysogorgiid Octocorals

The diversity, ubiquity and prevalence in deep waters of the octocoral family Chrysogorgiidae Verrill, 1883 make it noteworthy as a model system to study radiation and diversification in the deep sea. Here we provide the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Chrysogorgiidae, and compare phylogeny and depth distribution. Phylogenetic relationships among 10 of 14 currently-described Chrysogorgiidae genera were inferred based on mitochondrial (mtMutS, cox1) and nuclear (18S) markers. Bathymetric distribution was estimated from multiple sources, including museum records, a literature review, and our own sampling records (985 stations, 2345 specimens). Genetic analyses suggest that the Chrysogorgiidae as currently described is a polyphyletic family. Shallow-water genera, and two of eight deep-water genera, appear more closely related to other octocoral families than to the remainder of the monophyletic, deep-water chrysogorgiid genera. Monophyletic chrysogorgiids are composed of strictly (Iridogorgia Verrill, 1883, Metallogorgia Versluys, 1902, Radicipes Stearns, 1883, Pseudochrysogorgia Pante & France, 2010) and predominantly (Chrysogorgia Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) deep-sea genera that diversified in situ. This group is sister to gold corals (Primnoidae Milne Edwards, 1857) and deep-sea bamboo corals (Keratoisidinae Gray, 1870), whose diversity also peaks in the deep sea. Nine species of Chrysogorgia that were described from depths shallower than 200 m, and mtMutS haplotypes sequenced from specimens sampled as shallow as 101 m, suggest a shallow-water emergence of some Chrysogorgia species

The kinetic temperature of a molecular cloud at redshift 0.7: Ammonia in the gravitational lens B0218+357

Using the Effelsberg 100-m telescope, absorption in the (J,K) = (1,1), (2,2) and (3,3) inversion lines of ammonia (NH_3) was detected at a redshift of z = 0.6847 toward the gravitational lens system B0218+357. The lambda ~ 2cm absorption peaks at 0.5-1.0 % of the continuum level and appears to cover a smaller fraction of the radio continuum background than lines at millimeter wavelengths. Measured intensities are consistent with a rotation temperature of ~35K, corresponding to a kinetic temperature of ~55K. The column density toward the core of image A then becomes N(NH_3) ~ 1 * 10^(14)cm^(-2) and fractional abundance and gas density are of order X(NH_3)~10^(-8) and n(H_2)~5 * 10^(3)cm^(-3), respectively. Upper limits are reported for the (2,1) and (4,4) lines of NH_3 and for transitions of the SO, DCN, OCS, SiO, C_3N, H_2CO, SiC_2, HC_3N, HC_5N, and CH_3OH molecules. These limits and the kinetic temperature indicate that the absorption lines are not arising from a cold dark cloud but from a warm, diffuse, predominantly molecular medium. The physical parameters of the absorbing molecular complex, seen at a projected distance of ~2 kpc to the center of the lensing galaxy, are quite peculiar when compared with the properties of clouds in the Galaxy or in nearby extragalactic systems.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures accepted by A&