Detection of Planetary and Stellar Companions to Neighboring Stars via a Combination of Radial Velocity and Direct Imaging Techniques

13 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal (submitted 25 Feb 2019; accepted 28 April 2019). Machine readable tables and Posteriors from the RadVel fits are available here: http://stephenkane.net/rvfits.tarThe sensitivities of radial velocity (RV) surveys for exoplanet detection are extending to increasingly longer orbital periods, where companions with periods of several years are now being regularly discovered. Companions with orbital periods that exceed the duration of the survey manifest in the data as an incomplete orbit or linear trend, a feature that can either present as the sole detectable companion to the host star, or as an additional signal overlain on the signatures of previously discovered companion(s). A diagnostic that can confirm or constrain scenarios in which the trend is caused by an unseen stellar rather than planetary companion is the use of high-contrast imaging observations. Here, we present RV data from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search (AAPS) for 20 stars that show evidence of orbiting companions. Of these, six companions have resolved orbits, with three that lie in the planetary regime. Two of these (HD 92987b and HD 221420b) are new discoveries. Follow-up observations using the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI) on the Gemini South telescope revealed that 5 of the 20 monitored companions are likely stellar in nature. We use the sensitivity of the AAPS and DSSI data to place constraints on the mass of the companions for the remaining systems. Our analysis shows that a planetary-mass companion provides the most likely self-consistent explanation of the data for many of the remaining systems.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Insights into the vertical stratification of microbial ecological roles across the deepest seawater column on Earth

The Earth’s oceans are a huge body of water with physicochemical properties and microbial community profiles that change with depth, which in turn influences their biogeochemical cycling potential. The differences between microbial communities and their functional potential in surface to hadopelagic water samples are only beginning to be explored. Here, we used metagenomics to investigate the microbial communities and their potential to drive biogeochemical cycling in seven different water layers down the vertical profile of the Challenger Deep (0–10,500 m) in the Mariana Trench, the deepest natural point in the Earth’s oceans. We recovered 726 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) affiliated to 27 phyla. Overall, biodiversity increased in line with increased depth. In addition, the genome size of MAGs at ≥4000 m layers was slightly larger compared to those at 0–2000 m. As expected, surface waters were the main source of primary production, predominantly from Cyanobacteria. Intriguingly, microbes conducting an unusual form of nitrogen metabolism were identified in the deepest waters (>10,000 m), as demonstrated by an enrichment of genes encoding proteins involved in dissimilatory nitrate to ammonia conversion (DNRA), nitrogen fixation and urea transport. These likely facilitate the survival of ammonia-oxidizing archaea α lineage, which are typically present in environments with a high ammonia concentration. In addition, the microbial potential for oxidative phosphorylation and the glyoxylate shunt was enhanced in >10,000 m waters. This study provides novel insights into how microbial communities and their genetic potential for biogeochemical cycling differs through the Challenger deep water column, and into the unique adaptive lifestyle of microbes in the Earth’s deepest seawater

Estimating the global burden of endemic canine rabies

Background: Rabies is a notoriously underreported and neglected disease of lowincome countries. This study aims to estimate the public health and economic burden of rabies circulating in domestic dog populations, globally and on a country-by-country basis, allowing an objective assessment of how much this preventable disease costs endemic countries.<p></p> Methodology/Principal Findings: We established relationships between rabies mortality and rabies prevention and control measures, which we incorporated into a model framework. We used data derived from extensive literature searches and questionnaires on disease incidence, control interventions and preventative measures within this framework to estimate the disease burden. The burden of rabies impacts on public health sector budgets, local communities and livestock economies, with the highest risk of rabies in the poorest regions of the world. This study estimates that globally canine rabies causes approximately 59,000 (95% Confidence Intervals: 25- 159,000) human deaths, over 3.7 million (95% CIs: 1.6-10.4 million) disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and 8.6 billion USD (95% CIs: 2.9-21.5 billion) economic losses annually. The largest component of the economic burden is due to premature death (55%), followed by direct costs of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP, 20%) and lost income whilst seeking PEP (15.5%), with only limited costs to the veterinary sector due to dog vaccination (1.5%), and additional costs to communities from livestock losses (6%).<p></p> Conclusions/Significance: This study demonstrates that investment in dog vaccination, the single most effective way of reducing the disease burden, has been inadequate and that the availability and affordability of PEP needs improving. Collaborative investments by medical and veterinary sectors could dramatically reduce the current large, and unnecessary, burden of rabies on affected communities. Improved surveillance is needed to reduce uncertainty in burden estimates and to monitor the impacts of control efforts.<p></p&gt

A novel small molecule inhibitor of human Drp1

Mitochondrial dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) is a large GTPase regulator of mitochondrial dynamics and is known to play an important role in numerous pathophysiological processes. Despite being the most widely used Drp1 inhibitor, the specificity of Mdivi-1 towards human Drp1 has not been definitively proven and there have been numerous issues reported with its use including off-target effects. In our hands Mdivi-1 showed varying binding affinities toward human Drp1, potentially impacted by compound aggregation. Herein, we sought to identify a novel small molecule inhibitor of Drp1. From an initial virtual screening, we identified DRP1i27 as a compound which directly bound to the human isoform 3 of Drp1 via surface plasmon resonance and microscale thermophoresis. Importantly, DRP1i27 was found to have a dose-dependent increase in the cellular networks of fused mitochondria but had no effect in Drp1 knock-out cells. Further analogues of this compound were identified and screened, though none displayed greater affinity to human Drp1 isoform 3 than DRP1i27. To date, this is the first small molecule inhibitor shown to directly bind to human Drp1

Transmission Spectroscopy for the Warm Sub-Neptune HD 3167c: Evidence for Molecular Absorption and a Possible High-metallicity Atmosphere

We present a transmission spectrum for the warm (500−600 K) sub-Neptune HD 3167c obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 infrared spectrograph. We combine these data, which span the 1.125–1.643 μm wavelength range, with broadband transit measurements made using Kepler/K2 (0.6–0.9 μm) and Spitzer/IRAC (4–5 μm). We find evidence for absorption by at least one of H₂O, HCN, CO₂, and CH₄ (Bayes factor 7.4; 2.5σ significance), although the data precision does not allow us to unambiguously discriminate between these molecules. The transmission spectrum rules out cloud-free hydrogen-dominated atmospheres with metallicities ≤100× solar at >5.8σ confidence. In contrast, good agreement with the data is obtained for cloud-free models assuming metallicities >700× solar. However, for retrieval analyses that include the effect of clouds, a much broader range of metallicities (including subsolar) is consistent with the data, due to the degeneracy with cloud-top pressure. Self-consistent chemistry models that account for photochemistry and vertical mixing are presented for the atmosphere of HD 3167c. The predictions of these models are broadly consistent with our abundance constraints, although this is primarily due to the large uncertainties on the latter. Interior structure models suggest that the core mass fraction is >40%, independent of a rock or water core composition, and independent of atmospheric envelope metallicity up to 1000× solar. We also report abundance measurements for 15 elements in the host star, showing that it has a very nearly solar composition

Immunogenicity of a Third Scheduled Dose of Rotarix in Australian Indigenous Infants: A Phase IV, Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

BackgroundRotarix (GlaxoSmithKline) oral rotavirus vaccine is licensed as 2 doses in the first 6 months of life. In settings with high child mortality rates, clinical protection conferred by 2 doses of Rotarix is reduced. We assessed vaccine immune response when an additional dose of Rotarix was given to Australian Aboriginal children 6 to MethodsORVAC is a 2-stage, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Australian Aboriginal children 6 to ResultsBetween March 2018 and August 2020, a total of 253 infants were enrolled. Of these, 178 infants (70%) had analyzable serological results after follow-up; 89 were randomized to receive Rotarix, and 89 to receive placebo. The proportion with seroresponse was 85% after Rotarix compared with 72% after placebo. There were no occurrences of intussusception or any serious adverse events.ConclusionsAn additional dose of Rotarix administered to Australian Aboriginal infants 6 to Clinical trials registrationNCT02941107

CyanoCyc cyanobacterial web portal

CyanoCyc is a web portal that integrates an exceptionally rich database collection of information about cyanobacterial genomes with an extensive suite of bioinformatics tools. It was developed to address the needs of the cyanobacterial research and biotechnology communities. The 277 annotated cyanobacterial genomes currently in CyanoCyc are supplemented with computational inferences including predicted metabolic pathways, operons, protein complexes, and orthologs; and with data imported from external databases, such as protein features and Gene Ontology (GO) terms imported from UniProt. Five of the genome databases have undergone manual curation with input from more than a dozen cyanobacteria experts to correct errors and integrate information from more than 1,765 published articles. CyanoCyc has bioinformatics tools that encompass genome, metabolic pathway and regulatory informatics; omics data analysis; and comparative analyses, including visualizations of multiple genomes aligned at orthologous genes, and comparisons of metabolic networks for multiple organisms. CyanoCyc is a high-quality, reliable knowledgebase that accelerates scientists’ work by enabling users to quickly find accurate information using its powerful set of search tools, to understand gene function through expert mini-reviews with citations, to acquire information quickly using its interactive visualization tools, and to inform better decision-making for fundamental and applied research

KELT-23Ab: A Hot Jupiter Transiting a Near-solar Twin Close to the TESS and JWST Continuous Viewing Zones

We announce the discovery of KELT-23Ab, a hot Jupiter transiting the relatively bright (V = 10.3) star BD+66 911 (TYC 4187-996-1), and characterize the system using follow-up photometry and spectroscopy. A global fit to the system yields host-star properties of K, , , , (cgs), and . KELT-23Ab is a hot Jupiter with a mass of , radius of , and density of g cm-3. Intense insolation flux from the star has likely caused KELT-23Ab to become inflated. The time of inferior conjunction is and the orbital period is days. There is strong evidence that KELT-23A is a member of a long-period binary star system with a less luminous companion, and due to tidal interactions, the planet is likely to spiral into its host within roughly a gigayear. This system has one of the highest positive ecliptic latitudes of all transiting planet hosts known to date, placing it near the Transiting Planet Survey Satellite and James Webb Space Telescope continuous viewing zones. Thus we expect it to be an excellent candidate for long-term monitoring and follow up with these facilities