The dissimilar chemical composition of the planet-hosting stars of the XO-2 binary system

Using high-quality spectra of the twin stars in the XO-2 binary system, we have detected significant differences in the chemical composition of their photospheres. The differences correlate strongly with the elements' dust condensation temperature. In XO-2N, volatiles are enhanced by about 0.015 dex and refractories are overabundant by up to 0.090 dex. On average, our error bar in relative abundance is 0.012 dex. We present an early metal-depletion scenario in which the formation of the gas giant planets known to exist around these stars is responsible for a 0.015 dex offset in the abundances of all elements while 20 M_Earth of non-detected rocky objects that formed around XO-2S explain the additional refractory-element difference. An alternative explanation involves the late accretion of at least 20 M_Earth of planet-like material by XO-2N, allegedly as a result of the migration of the hot Jupiter detected around that star. Dust cleansing by a nearby hot star as well as age or Galactic birthplace effects can be ruled out as valid explanations for this phenomenon.Comment: ApJ, in press. Complete linelist (Table 3) available in the "Other formats -> Source" downloa

Dataset from: Lapses in perceptual decisions reflect exploration.

Perceptual decision-makers often display a constant rate of errors independent of evidence strength. These “lapses” are treated as a nuisance arising from noise tangential to the decision, e.g. inattention or motor errors. Here, we use a multisensory decision task in rats to demonstrate that these explanations cannot account for lapses’ stimulus dependence. We propose a novel explanation: lapses reflect a strategic trade-off between exploiting known rewarding actions and exploring uncertain ones. We tested the model’s predictions by selectively manipulating one action’s reward magnitude or probability. As uniquely predicted by this model, changes were restricted to lapses associated with that action. Finally, we show that lapses are a powerful tool for assigning decision-related computations to neural structures based on disruption experiments (here, posterior striatum and secondary motor cortex). These results suggest that lapses reflect an integral component of decision-making and are informative about action values in normal and disrupted brain states

Evaluation of the Complementary Relationship Using Noah Land Surface Model and North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) Data to Estimate Evapotranspiration in Semiarid Ecosystems

Estimating evapotranspiration using the complementary relationship can serve as a proxy to more sophisticated physically based approaches and can be used to better understand water and energy budget feedbacks. The authors investigated the existence of complementarity between actual evapotranspiration (ET) and potential ET (ETp) over natural vegetation in semiarid desert ecosystems of southern Idaho using only the forcing data and simulated fluxes obtained from Noah land surface model (LSM) and North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) data. To mitigate the paucity of long-term meteorological data, the Noah LSM-simulated fluxes and the NARR forcing data were used in the advection–aridity (AA) model to derive the complementary relationship (CR) for the sagebrush and cheatgrass ecosystems. When soil moisture was a limiting factor for ET, the CR was stable and asymmetric, with b values of 2.43 and 1.43 for sagebrush and cheatgrass, respectively. Higher b values contributed to decreased ET and increased ETp, and as a result ET from the sagebrush community was less compared to that of cheatgrass. Validation of the derived CR showed that correlations between daily ET from the Noah LSM and CR-based ET were 0.76 and 0.80 for sagebrush and cheatgrass, respectively, while the root-mean-square errors were 0.53 and 0.61 mm day--1

Productivity and Profitability Assessment of Drought Tolerant Rice Cultivars under Different Crop Management Practices in Central Terai of Nepal

Reduction in productivity has led to lower profitability of rice production in Nepal. Proper selections of resource conservation technologies and drought tolerant cultivars are being potential strategies determining productivity of rice in drought prone areas. Thus, a field experiment was accomplished in central-terai of Nepal during 2014 to assess the productivity and profitability of drought tolerant rice cultivars under different crop management practices. The experiment was carried out in strip-plot design with three replications consisting four drought tolerant rice cultivars and three crop management practices. The analyzed data revealed that SRI (System of Rice Intensification) produced significantly higher grain yield (5.28 t ha-1) than other management practices. The straw yield of SRI (5.12 t ha-1) was also significantly higher than other management practices. The cultivars had no influence on grain yield, but the straw yield was significantly influenced by cultivars, with the highest straw yield in Sukkha-3 (5.21 t ha-1). Similarly, SRI management practice also had significantly higher gross returns (NRs. 144652 ha-1), net return (NRs. 56647 ha-1) and B:C ratio (1.64:1). Thus, SRI management practice can be adopted as adaptation approach for obtaining higher productivity and profitability in central terai and similar agro-climatic regions of Nepal

Low admission LDL-cholesterol is associated with increased 3-year all-cause mortality in patients with non ST segment elevation myocardial infarction

Background: The relationship between admission low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels and long-term outcomes has not been established in patients with acute coronary syndrome. We tested the hypothesis that patients who develop non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) despite low LDL have a worse cardiovascular outcome in the long term. Methods: Patients admitted with NSTEMI between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2000 and with fasting lipid profiles measured within 24 hours of admission were selected for analysis. Baseline characteristics and 3-year all-cause mortality were compared between the patients with LDL above and below the median. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the predictors of all-cause mortality, and adjusted survival was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard model. Results: Of the total of 517 patients, 264 had LDL £ 105 mg/dL and 253 had LDL > 105 mg/dL. There was no difference in age, gender, severity of coronary artery disease, and left ventricular ejection fraction between the 2 groups. Thirty-six percent of patients with LDL £ 105 mg/dL and 24% of patients with LDL > 105 mg/dL were on lipid-lowering therapy on admission. After 3 years, patients with admission LDL £ 105 mg/dL had higher all-cause mortality rate compared to patients with LDL > 105 mg/dL (14.8% vs. 7.1%, p = 0.005). The higher all-cause mortality persisted (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.0–3.5, p = 0.05) even after adjustment for confounding variables. Conclusions: In our cohort, lower LDL-cholesterol at admission was associated with decreased 3-year survival in patients with NSTEMI. Whether this was a result of current therapy or a marker for worse baseline characteristics needs to be studied further

Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis: A retrospective Study at a tertiary care hospital in Palpa, Nepal

Background: Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is a significant global health problem. Related studies to it in different places and diff erent durations are indicated by many previous research findings. Findings of this study could be beneficial for its preventive and control strategies. Methodology: Retrospective analysis of clinical specimens submitted to Central laboratory of Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital (LMCTH) for extrapulmonary tuberculosis was performed. Total 261 samples submitted from April 2011 to February 2013 were included for analysis in this study. Results: Total 20.7% (54/261) prevalence of EPTB was reported. Based on sites involved; lymph node 87.03%, pleural effusion7.40%, peritoneal5.55% were found. Genderwise equal prevalence was seen among male and females. Age-wise prevalence among patients between 21-40 years was reported. Conclusion: Our finding indicates great necessity for further large scale study on prevalence of EPTB in this location for its prevention and control

Assessment of Yield and Yield Attributing Characters of Hybrid Maize using Nutrient Expert® Maize Model in Eastern Terai of Nepal

Indiscriminate use of fertilizer and lack of site specific nutrient management technology is the main cause of low maize productivity in Nepal. Thus, field experiments on farmer\u27s field were conducted on maize to assess the productivity at two sites of Jhapa district viz. Damak and Gauradaha using Nutrient Expert® Maize model from November 2015 to May 2016. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Completely Block Design consisting two treatments viz. NE (Nutrient Expert recommendation) and FFP (Farmer\u27s Fertilizer Practice) with twenty replications. The result revealed significant differences in terms of grain yield, stover yield, biological yield, and yield attributing characters. NE based practices produced higher grain yield (9.22 t ha-1), which was 86.6 percent higher than FFP (4.94 t ha-1). Similarly, higher average cob number m 2 (8.2), average kernel rows cob-1 (14.2), average kernels number row-1 (589.9) and test weight (361.4 g) were recorded in NE based practice. Thus, NE based practice can be adopted for obtaining higher productivity in eastern terai region of Nepal

Motor Stereotypic Behaviors in Zoo Rhesus Monkeys: a Case Study of the Central Zoo, Kathmandu, Nepal

Motor stereotypic behaviors (MSBs) are a kind of repetitive behaviors performed by stressed animals and are more common in captivity. This study aimed to assess whether the MSB in captive rhesus monkeys varies between males and females, and with the extent of visitor-monkey interactions. A group of six rhesus monkeys (two adult males and four adult females; among females, two were rescued from the wild and two were captive-born) housed in the Central Zoo, Kathmandu Nepal were sampled in the study. Behavioral observations were done by focal animal sampling for 30 minutes in each session from 8:00 AM till 10:00 AM in the absence of visitors and 10:00 AM–12:00 PM in the presence of visitors. At every 10 minutes interval, the number of visitors around the cage and the level of visitor-monkey interactions were scanned. Pacing and bounce were the MSBs performed by the zoo rhesus monkeys. Females, especially the rescued ones, performed significantly more MSBs than the males. An increase in visitor-monkey interaction involved the monkeys into more begging and feeding, which in turn lowered the MSBs. The findings of this study indicate that interactive enrichment such as feeding and visitor-monkey interactions help to reduce MSBs in zoo monkeys