The bimodal absorption system imaging campaign (BASIC). I. A dual population of low-metallicity absorbers at z < 1

Instrumentatio

Baryons: What, When and Where?

We review the current state of empirical knowledge of the total budget of baryonic matter in the Universe as observed since the epoch of reionization. Our summary examines on three milestone redshifts since the reionization of H in the IGM, z = 3, 1, and 0, with emphasis on the endpoints. We review the observational techniques used to discover and characterize the phases of baryons. In the spirit of the meeting, the level is aimed at a diverse and non-expert audience and additional attention is given to describe how space missions expected to launch within the next decade will impact this scientific field.Comment: Proceedings Review for "Astrophysics in the Next Decade: JWST and Concurrent Facilities", ed. X. Tielens, 38 pages, 10 color figures. Revised to address comments from the communit

A new route for producing metal borides and carbides

Metal borides and carbides are non-oxide ceramics. They exhibit many attractive properties, such as wear resistance (e.g., WC, TiB2 and TiC), oxidation resistance (e.g., SiC) and resistance to attack by molten metals or glasses (e.g., TiB2 and TiC). Conventional processes for producing metal borides and carbides mainly include: (i) carbothermic reduction, (ii) combustion method and (iii) gas or liquid phase synthesis, among which process (i) is the primary route especially on a large-scale productio

No increased rate of acute myocardial infarction or stroke among patients with ankylosing spondylitis—a retrospective cohort study using routine data

Objectives: To examine if people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are at higher risk of acute myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke compared to those without AS.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: Primary care records were linked with all hospital admissions and deaths caused by MI or stroke in Wales for the years 1999-2010. The linked data were then stratified by AS diagnosis and survival analysis was used to obtain the incidence rate of MI and separately cerebrovascular disease (CVD)/stroke. Cox regression was used to adjust for gender and age. Logistic regression was used to examine prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, or hyperlipidemia for those with AS compared to those without.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: There were 1686 AS patients (75.9% male, average age 46.1 years) compared to 1,206,621 controls (48.9% male, average age 35.9 years). Age- and gender-adjusted hazard ratios for MI were 1.28 (95% CI: 0.93 to 1.74) P = 0.12, and for CVD/stroke 1.0 (95% CI: 0.73 to 1.39) P = 0.9, in AS compared to controls. The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension, but not hyperlipidemia/hypercholesterolemia, was higher in AS.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusions: There is no increase in the MI or CVD/stroke rates in patients with AS compared to those without AS, despite higher rates of hypertension, which may be related to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use