The Eleventh and Twelfth Data Releases of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Final Data from SDSS-III

The third generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) took data from 2008 to 2014 using the original SDSS wide-field imager, the original and an upgraded multi-object fiber-fed optical spectrograph, a new near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph, and a novel optical interferometer. All of the data from SDSS-III are now made public. In particular, this paper describes Data Release 11 (DR11) including all data acquired through 2013 July, and Data Release 12 (DR12) adding data acquired through 2014 July (including all data included in previous data releases), marking the end of SDSS-III observing. Relative to our previous public release (DR10), DR12 adds one million new spectra of galaxies and quasars from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) over an additional 3000 deg2 of sky, more than triples the number of H-band spectra of stars as part of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), and includes repeated accurate radial velocity measurements of 5500 stars from the Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey (MARVELS). The APOGEE outputs now include the measured abundances of 15 different elements for each star. In total, SDSS-III added 5200 deg2 of ugriz imaging; 155,520 spectra of 138,099 stars as part of the Sloan Exploration of Galactic Understanding and Evolution 2 (SEGUE-2) survey; 2,497,484 BOSS spectra of 1,372,737 galaxies, 294,512 quasars, and 247,216 stars over 9376 deg2; 618,080 APOGEE spectra of 156,593 stars; and 197,040 MARVELS spectra of 5513 stars. Since its first light in 1998, SDSS has imaged over 1/3 of the Celestial sphere in five bands and obtained over five million astronomical spectra. \ua9 2015. The American Astronomical Society

Estradiol Valerate/Dienogest: A Novel Combined Oral Contraceptive

Background: Estradiol valerate/dienogest (E2V/DNG) is a combined oral contraceptive (COC) with 2 new hormonal entities and a unique 4-phasic dosing regimen indicated for women to prevent pregnancy. Objective: The purpose of this article is to review the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, tolerability, and cost of E2V/DNG. Methods: MEDLINE (1966-June 2011) and EMBASE (1966-June 2011) were searched for original research and review articles published in the English language using the terms . Natazia or . Qlaira or . estradiol valerate and dienogest. The reference lists of identified articles were reviewed for additional pertinent publications. Abstracts from the 2005 to 2011 American Society of Reproductive Medicine and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists meetings were searched using the same terms. Results: The search provided 56 articles that addressed the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, clinical efficacy, and tolerability of E2V/DNG in women of reproductive age. Articles reporting efficacy or tolerability in the setting of menopause were excluded. The initial efficacy of E2V/DNG on ovulation inhibition was investigated in 2 prospective, randomized, open-label, Phase II dose-finding studies. The dose that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration resulted in 3.13% of women ovulating in the second cycle of treatment (90% CI, 0.2%-6.05%). Rate of pregnancy prevention with this agent was reported with a Pearl Index ranging from 0.73 to 1.27 (unadjusted) to 0.34 to 0.72 (adjusted for method failure only). The mean duration of withdrawal bleeding was 4.3 days (range, 4.0-4.6 days) among 2266 women receiving 13 treatment cycles. Adverse events reported in \u3e1% of patients included abdominal pain, acne, breast pain, dysmenorrhea, emotional lability, headache, nausea, and weight increase. Conclusions: Estradiol valerate/dienogest is a new contraceptive formulation. It offers efficacy, tolerability, and an acceptable safety profile with a potentially better bleeding pattern than levonorgestrel-containing COCs. This COC may be especially useful for older women of reproductive age who are adherent to therapy and looking for shorter and/or lighter menstrual cycles. Studies will need to be performed to determine whether clinically significant differences in outcomes exist among E2V/DNG and other available COCs. © 2012 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc

Development of a capstone course to improve student confidence and pharmacotherapy knowledge prior to advanced pharmacy practice experiences

Objective: To describe a capstone course designed to improve student confidence with clinical skills, improve confidence with providing medication therapy, and evaluate student knowledge. Design: A 2-week capstone course was incorporated into the third-year pharmacotherapy course in a Doctor of Pharmacy program. Students evaluated complex patient cases and developed pharmacotherapy care plans. Pre- and post-capstone course survey results were used to assess change in student confidence using clinical skills and providing medication therapy, and quiz and exam results were used to assess student knowledge. Results: Student confidence significantly improved from baseline for clinical skills (p \u3c 0.02 across all clinical skills domains) and providing medication therapy (p \u3c 0.01 across all disease states). Students reported the largest improvement in confidence for the clinical skill of creating a Subjective/Objective/Assessment/Plan (SOAP) note on a patient with multiple disease states (p \u3c 0.001). Students reported the highest confidence increase for acute kidney injury (p \u3c 0.001). The average written exam score was 87.2% (standard deviation ± 8.0) and the average verbal exam score was 79.1% (standard deviation ± 15.7). Conclusion: A 2-week capstone course can be valuable to improve confidence and assess student knowledge prior to advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs)

The eleventh and twelfth data releases of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey : final data from SDSS-III

The third generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) took data from 2008 to 2014 using the original SDSS wide-field imager, the original and an upgraded multi-object fiber-fed optical spectrograph, a new nearinfrared high-resolution spectrograph, and a novel optical interferometer. All of the data from SDSS-III are now made public. In particular, this paper describes Data Release 11 (DR11) including all data acquired through 2013 July, and Data Release 12 (DR12) adding data acquired through 2014 July (including all data included in previous data releases), marking the end of SDSS-III observing. Relative to our previous public release (DR10), DR12 adds one million new spectra of galaxies and quasars from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) over an additional 3000 deg2 of sky, more than triples the number of H-band spectra of stars as part of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), and includes repeated accurate radial velocity measurements of 5500 stars from the Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey (MARVELS). The APOGEE outputs now include the measured abundances of 15 different elements for each star. In total, SDSS-III added 5200 deg2 of ugriz imaging; 155,520 spectra of 138,099 stars as part of the Sloan Exploration of Galactic Understanding and Evolution 2 (SEGUE-2) survey; 2,497,484 BOSS spectra of 1,372,737 galaxies, 294,512 quasars, and 247,216 stars over 9376 deg2; 618,080 APOGEE spectra of 156,593 stars; and 197,040 MARVELS spectra of 5513 stars. Since its first light in 1998, SDSS has imaged over 1/3 of the Celestial sphere in five bands and obtained over five million astronomical spectra

The tenth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey:first spectroscopic data from the SDSS-III Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has been in operation since 2000 April. This paper presents the Tenth Public Data Release (DR10) from its current incarnation, SDSS-III. This data release includes the first spectroscopic data from the Apache Point Observatory Galaxy Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), along with spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) taken through 2012 July. The APOGEE instrument is a near-infrared R ~ 22,500 300 fiber spectrograph covering 1.514–1.696 μm. The APOGEE survey is studying the chemical abundances and radial velocities of roughly 100,000 red giant star candidates in the bulge, bar, disk, and halo of the Milky Way. DR10 includes 178,397 spectra of 57,454 stars, each typically observed three or more times, from APOGEE. Derived quantities from these spectra (radial velocities, effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities) are also included. DR10 also roughly doubles the number of BOSS spectra over those included in the Ninth Data Release. DR10 includes a total of 1,507,954 BOSS spectra comprising 927,844 galaxy spectra, 182,009 quasar spectra, and 159,327 stellar spectra selected over 6373.2 deg2.</p

The Tenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has been in operation since 2000 April. This paper presents the Tenth Public Data Release (DR10) from its current incarnation, SDSS-III. This data release includes the first spectroscopic data from the Apache Point Observatory Galaxy Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), along with spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) taken through 2012 July. The APOGEE instrument is a near-infrared R similar to 22,500 300 fiber spectrograph covering 1.514-1.696 mu m. The APOGEE survey is studying the chemical abundances and radial velocities of roughly 100,000 red giant star candidates in the bulge, bar, disk, and halo of the Milky Way. DR10 includes 178,397 spectra of 57,454 stars, each typically observed three or more times, from APOGEE. Derived quantities from these spectra (radial velocities, effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities) are also included. DR10 also roughly doubles the number of BOSS spectra over those included in the Ninth Data Release. DR10 includes a total of 1,507,954 BOSS spectra comprising 927,844 galaxy spectra, 182,009 quasar spectra, and 159,327 stellar spectra selected over 6373.2 deg(-2)

The eleventh and twelfth data releases of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey:final data from SDSS-III

The third generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) took data from 2008 to 2014 using the original SDSS wide-field imager, the original and an upgraded multi-object fiber-fed optical spectrograph, a new near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph, and a novel optical interferometer. All of the data from SDSS-III are now made public. In particular, this paper describes Data Release 11 (DR11) including all data acquired through 2013 July, and Data Release 12 (DR12) adding data acquired through 2014 July (including all data included in previous data releases), marking the end of SDSS-III observing. Relative to our previous public release (DR10), DR12 adds one million new spectra of galaxies and quasars from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) over an additional 3000 deg2 of sky, more than triples the number of H-band spectra of stars as part of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), and includes repeated accurate radial velocity measurements of 5500 stars from the Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey (MARVELS). The APOGEE outputs now include the measured abundances of 15 different elements for each star. In total, SDSS-III added 5200 deg2 of ugriz imaging; 155,520 spectra of 138,099 stars as part of the Sloan Exploration of Galactic Understanding and Evolution 2 (SEGUE-2) survey; 2,497,484 BOSS spectra of 1,372,737 galaxies, 294,512 quasars, and 247,216 stars over 9376 deg2; 618,080 APOGEE spectra of 156,593 stars; and 197,040 MARVELS spectra of 5513 stars. Since its first light in 1998, SDSS has imaged over 1/3 of the Celestial sphere in five bands and obtained over five million astronomical spectra.</p

Wide-field Precision Kinematics of the M87 Globular Cluster System

We present the most extensive combined photometric and spectroscopic study to date of the enormous globular cluster (GC) system around M87, the central giant elliptical galaxy in the nearby Virgo Cluster. Using observations from DEIMOS and the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer at Keck, and Hectospec on the Multiple Mirror Telescope, we derive new, precise radial velocities for 451 GCs around M87, with projected radii from ~5 to 185 kpc. We combine these measurements with literature data for a total sample of 737 objects, which we use for a re-examination of the kinematics of the GC system of M87. The velocities are analyzed in the context of archival wide-field photometry and a novel Hubble Space Telescope catalog of half-light radii, which includes sizes for 344 spectroscopically confirmed clusters. We use this unique catalog to identify 18 new candidate ultracompact dwarfs and to help clarify the relationship between these objects and true GCs. We find much lower values for the outer velocity dispersion and rotation of the GC system than in earlier papers and also differ from previous work in seeing no evidence for a transition in the inner halo to a potential dominated by the Virgo Cluster, nor for a truncation of the stellar halo. We find little kinematical evidence for an intergalactic GC population. Aided by the precision of the new velocity measurements, we see significant evidence for kinematical substructure over a wide range of radii, indicating that M87 is in active assembly. A simple, scale-free analysis finds less dark matter within ~85 kpc than in other recent work, reducing the tension between X-ray and optical results. In general, out to a projected radius of ~150 kpc, our data are consistent with the notion that M87 is not dynamically coupled to the Virgo Cluster; the core of Virgo may be in the earliest stages of assembly

Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12

Data Release 12 (DR12) is the final data release of the SDSS-III, containing all SDSS observations through July 2014. It includes the complete dataset of the BOSS and APOGEE surveys, and also newly includes stellar radial velocity measurements from MARVELS

Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12

Data Release 12 (DR12) is the final data release of the SDSS-III, containing all SDSS observations through July 2014. It includes the complete dataset of the BOSS and APOGEE surveys, and also newly includes stellar radial velocity measurements from MARVELS