The corona and upper transition region of epsilon Eridani

We present analyses of observations of epsilon Eridani (K2 V) made with the Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer on Chandra and the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, supplemented by observations made with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer and the Reflection Grating Spectrometer on XMM-Newton. The observed emission lines are used to find relative element abundances, to place limits on the electron densities and pressures and to determine the mean apparent emission measure distribution. As in the previous paper by Sim & Jordan (2003a), the mean emitting area as a function of the electron temperature is derived by comparisons with a theoretical emission measure distribution found from energy balance arguments. The final model has a coronal temperature of 3.4 x 10^6 K, an electron pressure of 1.3 x 10^16 cm^-3 K at T_e = 2 x 10^5 K and an area filling factor of 0.14 at 3.2 x 10^5 K. We discuss a number of issues concerning the atomic data currently available. Our analyses are based mainly on the latest version of CHIANTI (v5.2). We conclude that the Ne/O relative abundance is 0.30, larger than that recommended from solar studies, and that there is no convincing evidence for enhanced coronal abundances of elements with low first ionization potentials.Comment: accepted by MNRAS; 19 pages, five figures, 10 table

Spectro-interferometric observations of classical nova V458 Vul 2007

We used the Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) to resolve 2.2 $\mu$m emission from the classical nova V458 Vul 2007 over the course of several days following its discovery on 2007 August 8.54 UT. We also obtained K-band photometric data and spectra of the nova during the early days of the outburst. We also used photometric measurements from the AAVSO database. This is a unique data set offering a 3-technique approach: high-resolution imaging, spectroscopy and photometry. Our analysis shows that the nova ejecta can be modeled as an inclined disk at low inclination i.e. low ellipticity which is consistent with the nova being in the fireball phase at which the outflowing gas is optically thick, confirmed by the presence of strong P-Cygni Balmer lines in the spectra. The expansion velocity is $\approx$1700 $\rm km\ s^{-1}$, derived from the H$\alpha$ line. By combining the nova's angular expansion rate measured by PTI with the expansion rate measured from spectroscopy, the inferred distance to the nova is 9.9-11.4 kpc. We also used the K-band fluxes and the derived size of the emission to estimate the total mass ejected from the nova $\approx 4\times 10^{-4} M_{\odot}$. The quick transition of the nova from Fe II to He/N class makes V458 Vul 2007 a hybrid nova.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Type I interferon signaling in hematopoietic cells is required for survival in mouse polymicrobial sepsis by regulating CXCL10

Type I interferon (IFN) α/β is critical for host defense. During endotoxicosis or highly lethal bacterial infections where systemic inflammation predominates, mice deficient in IFN-α/β receptor (IFNAR) display decreased systemic inflammation and improved outcome. However, human sepsis mortality often occurs during a prolonged period of immunosuppression and not from exaggerated inflammation. We used a low lethality cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model of sepsis to determine the role of type I IFNs in host defense during sepsis. Despite increased endotoxin resistance, IFNAR−/− and chimeric mice lacking IFNAR in hematopoietic cells display increased mortality to CLP. This was not associated with an altered early systemic inflammatory response, except for decreased CXCL10 production. IFNAR−/− mice display persistently elevated peritoneal bacterial counts compared with wild-type mice, reduced peritoneal neutrophil recruitment, and recruitment of neutrophils with poor phagocytic function despite normal to enhanced adaptive immune function during sepsis. Importantly, CXCL10 treatment of IFNAR−/− mice improves survival and decreases peritoneal bacterial loads, and CXCL10 increases mouse and human neutrophil phagocytosis. Using a low lethality sepsis model, we identify a critical role of type I IFN–dependent CXCL10 in host defense during polymicrobial sepsis by increasing neutrophil recruitment and function

Topical Application of a Mucoadhesive Freeze-Dried Black Raspberry Gel Induces Clinical and Histologic Regression and Reduces Loss of Heterozygosity Events in Premalignant Oral Intraepithelial Lesions: Results from a Multicentered, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Approximately 30%higher-grade premalignant oral intraepithelial neoplasia (OIN) lesions will progress to oral cancer. While surgery is the OIN treatment mainstay, many OIN lesions recur which is highly problematic for both surgeons and patients. This clinical trial assessed the chemopreventive efficacy of a natural-product based bioadhesive gel on OIN lesions

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

A systematic review of the role of vitamin insufficiencies and supplementation in COPD

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pulmonary inflammation, oxidants-antioxidants imbalance, as well as innate and adaptive immunity have been proposed as playing a key role in the development of COPD. The role of vitamins, as assessed either by food frequency questionnaires or measured in serum levels, have been reported to improve pulmonary function, reduce exacerbations and improve symptoms. Vitamin supplements have therefore been proposed to be a potentially useful additive to COPD therapy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic literature review was performed on the association of vitamins and COPD. The role of vitamin supplements in COPD was then evaluated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this review showed that various vitamins (vitamin C, D, E, A, beta and alpha carotene) are associated with improvement in features of COPD such as symptoms, exacerbations and pulmonary function. High vitamin intake would probably reduce the annual decline of FEV1. There were no studies that showed benefit from vitamin supplementation in improved symptoms, decreased hospitalization or pulmonary function.</p

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 $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ 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 Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the Second Phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since 2014 July. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the 14th from SDSS overall (making this Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes the data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (2014–2016 July) public. Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey; the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data-driven machine-learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from the SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS web site (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020 and will be followed by SDSS-V